A girl and her dogs

One more time with feeling

2011-08-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

Since my first year in the North (1999), I have said that if I were independently wealthy, I would move to Haines, Alaska. This weekend though, my Alaska dream destination has changed. If I had oodles of money (that is to say, enough that I didn't have to worry about a day job. I know, I know, money's just money and it can't buy happiness and blah, blah, blah...I, of all people, know that much) I would live in Halibut Cove, Alaska. I don't know that they'd have me, but I'd sure try to weasel my way in. You can only get there by boat. There are only a couple of dirt roads with the main thoroughfare being boardwalks high above the water. The ocean, actually.
It is nuts.
Magical.
I want to go to there.
Ah, but there would be no dog mushing...BUT I could build the free-range dog ranch I've always wanted...and I could write...and ride all the horses that are somehow over there...
I'd probably go all 'all-work-and-no-play' on everyone's asses, because it's quite secluded and only 25 people live there in the winter. But man, my first Halibut Cove experience was a good one. It's like a fantasy land. Hence, the above fantasy.
Anyway, enough gushing about it. Homer's cool too, with its roads and stores...
This summer has had some mighty big ups and some mighty deep downs, but that's life: up and down. In and out. Ebb and flow.
Work is still fun and challenging. I still love, love, love being part of something so important and unique. We're also getting ready for the annual Breast Cancer Run and soon after that, Iron Chef; a sexy, foody fundraiser for the clinic in, gasp, Halibut Cove! I can't wait to go back! The one and only restaurant there is a swanky place called the Saltry. It's spendy, but the food is good...worth it, even.
When not at work, I've been loose running the dogs to keep them happy and healthy. It's always hilarious and warms my heart to see the dogs running freely, getting along and peeing on every single thing in the yard. We've also run the team in harness a few times on cooler mornings and evenings.
I'm looking forward to winter, but I'm trying hard to enjoy every day, no matter what the season. We're not racing any more. Or doing tours. We're just going to enjoy the team for ourselves. I'm looking forward to camping trips and exploring the area, but, like I said, I'm pretty happy with the warm summer days right now.
We've managed to get out on a couple camping trips and took a trip in early July for my birthday to Denali Park via the Denali Highway. It was a great getaway and it was nice to visit with friends I haven't see in a while.
I'm hoping there won't be such a stretch before my next post, but who knows?
Here are some pics from the summer so far...

Doyon. And Ruby's butt.

Saltry, baby.

Happy in Halibut Cove.

A coffee shop. See? I could totally live there. Take note of the yellow fisherman hanging on your left.

A cool reflection.

Boardwalks.

Halibut Cove.

Visiting Heidi at Maclaren River Lodge on the Denali Highway. It was really neat to see the lodge in the summer. In the winter it serves as a checkpoint for a couple of races. The hospitality is second to none, no matter what the season.

Roy loves road trips. He loves them so much, he ate the inside of the Subaru.

Roy.

Hiking around in Denali Park.

Kathy and I. Kathy was in Alaska with her family and we managed to meet up for a night of Alaska Follies and reminiscing the good old Yukon News days.

The Savage River.

Summer. No, that's actually Summer. The blond dog running away...

Fly fishing on the Anchor River.

Roy! Go camping!

Mama said there'd be days like these

2011-05-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all the mothers of two- and four-legged children. This is to my musher mom friends, many of whom don't have kids of the two-legged variety, who have wiped away puppy tears, gotten up in the middle of the night (and still do) to scare away the boogie man (moose) or to remind them that 3 a.m. is not play time; who have broken up fights and cleaned up poo (so much poo!), and (best of all) who have learned and loved and nurtured and played time and time and time again.We've fixed boo-boos, paced in the doctor's office, worried and put on a brave face when we're scared for them. We've tried to teach them that 'poop' is not a food group. We fret when they don't eat and have taken their temperature the hard way many times over. We are their family, vet, therapist, trainer, coach and best friend. We've watched our furry kids grow and develop and work hard and we are proud of them. We are mothers of sled dogs and we strive for happy, healthy, strong, hard-working, loving kids just like any mom would. Did I mention the poo? Happy Mother's Day!
Peace.

I don't give a damn about my bad reputation

2011-04-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, whilst I was in Portland, I got a phone call from fast-talking television producer. His name was Jody and he is a producer for the Discovery Channel's show American Chopper. For those of you like me, who had never really seen the show, it's been on the air since '03 and it's about a father and sons and crew who build specialty motorcycles. They own a shop and make custom bad-ass bikes for a variety of people, mostly celebrities, I think. I had to do some research and talk it over with Rich and but we eventually decided that yes, we would take the cast and crew of American Chopper on a dog sled tour. Over the coming weeks I was in constant communication with Jody sorting out the details. And with each conversation, my stress level grew. That's just me. I love doing tours, but they tend to stress me out a little. We decided on Friday, April 8th at 7 a.m. Rich and I made arrangements with our respective jobs to come in late and commandeered a slew of handlers for the occasion. Fast forward to Thursday, the day BEFORE they were supposed to come. We had a close call with an ornery moose in the dog yard and then as I'm driving to work, I got a bunch of messages from Jody saying that they needed to do the tour today, preferably right now! Well, shit. I called him and said we both had to work and that we weren't really ready for it to happen until the next morning. He seemed a little desperate. I called Rich and our prospective handlers and asked them about bumping the tour to that evening. Everyone was on board! I called Jody back and said we could do it that evening. Anyway, long story, long, I was kind of a wreck at work, thinking about all I had to do in the two hours I would have before the tour after I got off. My super flexible and understanding boss let me go early and I raced home and started cleaning up, rigging sleds, etc. At around 7 p.m. I drove the quad to the top of the driveway (it's too slushy to drive trucks down right now...break up...) and waited. After a few minutes, I heard vehicles approaching. And then, my stomach dropped. Six big SUVs crested the hill and were coming toward me. 'How many freakin' people are there??' I thought. A lot, that's how many. No less than six (maybe eight) camera guys, sound guys, producers, creators, mechanics and, of course, Paul Teutel Sr., simply known as 'Senior' on the show. Rich and I were 'miked' up and 'Action!' There were a couple of staged shots. The first was Senior and crew walking into the dog yard and Rich and I standing there to greet them. Handshakes all around and then we launched into a talk about the dogs, sleds, what we do, etc. From there, Rich took Senior et al over to the sleds and talked about how to drive, safety stuff etc., while Katy, Jason, Kelly and I hooked up three teams of six dogs. We kind of jumped the gun on the hook-up because none of the camera guys were in place by the time we had the dogs hooked up. Oops. So there were several minutes of 18 dogs going absolutely apeshit and us standing there while the camera guys scrambled to get into position. So we finally took off. It was myself, then Senior, then some other dude whose name is failing me. They dumped a couple times and struggled to get up in the gooey snow, but they never let go! Amazing! Jason and Rich helped them up and off we went again. And again. And again. The dogs did three passes with different crew members and everyone, especially the dogs, did great. My team was Nova and Lahey in lead, Hitchcock and Doyon in swing and Maude and Audrey in wheel. The second team was Ku and Tim in lead, Lefty and Ruby in swing and Pancho and Dolly in wheel. The third team was Capiche and Strider in lead, Omar and Crush in swing and Drake and Hazel in wheel. We swapped a couple dogs out after the first two runs, just so everyone could have a chance. The dogs were superstars (as usual). We thought that, even though our little loop was short, the soft conditions and warm temps might tire them out a little. Not so. They seemed to get more and more amped up with each run. It was a proud moment for Spitfire Kennels. Rich and I did short on-camera interviews after the dogs were put away. I think we'll come off okay, but I am a little concerned about how we'll be portrayed. I guess we'll see. We just did what we do: run dogs and love life. Before they arrived I had even contemplated, albeit briefly, putting on a little makeup and wearing something I knew I wouldn't be comfortable in. I quickly came to my senses (I also quickly realized any makeup I still had was years old and would probably turn my skin green). I wore my smelly old dog bibs, a fleece jacket and a hat. That's me. Chubby and plain. No frills. And we like it like that! The crew left after two hours at the ranch. They were all happy and smiling and I really think they had a good time. I know we did. The episode it set to air in early May. Since I was wrapped up in the tour, I didn't take a single photo. But luckily, our friend Kelly took lots and some video. Thanks, Kel! Peace.

Camera guys.

Rich and I waiting for Senior to walk up the trail and greet us. I kept forgetting I had a microphone on....and I really can't remember what I was saying to Rich...uh oh...

Senior arrives.

He was quite interested in the dogs.

And the sled...I wonder what he's thinking...

He made it back relatively unscathed and kept saying what a workout it was. Now that I look at this photo, I think we could have at least moved the shit buckets...

Me talking to one of the welders, Mike. The whole crew was really nice and very interested in what we do.

Our friend and neighbor Matt skied down to check out the circus and offer up a hand. He got there a little late and we were just wrapping up. He got bit by Roy and skied home. Poor Matt. (Roy was having trouble controlling his emotions. He wasn't biting out of aggression, it was more of a 'what's up, neighbor?' bite. And we just found out that Roy bit him in the leg and the ass.)

Cool town, evening in the city

2011-03-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you could have already guessed, I am most definitely a country mouse. Cities are nice for a visit, but I start to get all itchy and twitchy from the abundance of stimuli around every corner. I can hang, though. For a week at the most. Last week I went to Portland with four of my cohorts for a conference on all things reproductive health. It was fascinating and I learned so much useful information that I was giddy. In the evenings, we'd debrief over fancy cocktails and unbelievably fresh and tasty vittles. It was heaven. But, I missed my dogs and my Rich. And my outhouse. The hotel we stayed at was a five-star joint called The Nines in downtown Portland. With their bazillion-thread-count sheets and evening turn-down service, I felt like a queen. A bloated queen (I ate a lot!), but a queen nonetheless. It was almost a little too fancy. One evening after our meal, three of us ventured out to find some nightlife. We ended up at a drag show talking to one of the performers who was from, get this, Soldotna! Soldotna is a small town north of us and not very conducive to guys who wanna be girls and vice versa, I'm sure. So Alli/Dustin ventured to Portland where she/he now performs nightly in sparkly outfits and a bright blond wig. I'm back at home now and we're gearing up for our last tour of the season. We're crossing our fingers that the snow holds for one more week, because out last tour is kind of a big one...more on that later... Peace.

A nightcap after a great conference day.

A greyhound that looked like Roy. This guy's owner thought I was freak, but I needed a Roy fix.

Oh, Portland.

Heading into Chinatown for dinner at Ping.

The view from the 14th floor of our hotel looking down onto one of the hotel restaurants.

One of the trains near our hotel. We were all very excited to see this message.

Michelle, Alli/Dustin, Theresa and me.

The wayward wind is a restless wind

2011-03-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

March means a few different things for us here at the dog ranch. Usually it means warmer temps, which in turn means running dogs with fewer layers on. Last year it meant a huge blizzard that nearly trapped us in the cabin. March usually means getting ready for new summer employment with the dogs. And it means heading to Anchorage for the start of Iditarod. This March is a little different. It's cold, colder than it's been all winter. And clear. No storms in the near future. And no Iditarod start for us. Also, we've found jobs we love and will stay put for the summer months. The dogs, it seems, have gotten over their little stomach bug thanks to a couple rounds of meds and a switch in food, and are healthy and strong. This winter has been nice and relaxing for mushers and dogs alike. We've been doing tours on weekends and have once again been lucky to have great and interesting people visit our kennel. On days when we don't have tours and on weekdays after work, we've been running the dogs lots on the great trails right out of the yard. With the daylight returning quickly, March is already proving to be a great month!
I'd like to take a moment to thank Mark Atkins for his ongoing support of the kennel. Even from across the pond, as they say, his contributions have helped us maintain the dogs and even helped us get closer to our goal of spaying and neutering the whole kennel. Last week, we were able to get three more males de-balled. Lil' Wayne, Linus and Ty have recovered from their minor surgeries and are ready to get back in the team.
I head to Portland later this month for a work conference and am really looking forward to learning from, and interacting with, like-minded folks from across the country. My job is going better than I ever could have hoped, by the way. I'm enjoying the work and the people immensely.
As for this summer, I'd like to continue training the dogs on the cooler mornings with the ATV, do a lot of loose runs and even try some swimming with them. We'd like to get back on the race trail next winter and hopefully, we'll be in a better place financially to load up the team and get to a few events.
I guess that's it for now. Below are a few photos from last weekend of our friends Theresa and Hez out for a visit and a dog sled ride.
Peace.

Rich and I hooking up. Lahey and her brother Lefty in wheel.

Theresa sporting the latest winter fashion: Painted on, hot pink snow bibs and a camo balaclava...we call it Homer Couture...

Unhooking.

Rich demonstrating the puppy kiss.

Theresa and I ready for a cold ride.

I tried to do you right, why'd you have to go and turn to ice?

2011-01-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

Bark! Bark! Arf! Ruff! Yip! Yap!
Ready? All right!
Whoooooosh!!!
Now comes the sound of the sled brake on ice...I don't know how to write that.
The weather has not been cooperating as of late, but the show must go on, so Rich and I took out four, six-dog teams yesterday over the icy, hard-packed trails. Running small teams with weight in the sled is manageable, but still quite fast and very rough. We had our mid-winter thaw a couple weeks ago and shortly after the temps dropped but unfortunately, no snow dropped from the sky, so the trails were/are in less-than-desirable shape. Icy, hard, overflow with a ton of moose holes and ruts. We're taking it as slow as we can with little teams.
Easy guys, eeeeasssy...
Yesterday, we passed our neighbor head-on with our first two teams and then again with our second two. The second time we passed, we were leaving our narrow, windy trail which we affectionately call 'Swiss Cheese Trail' and our neighbor was coming home. We had waited to hook up because we knew he was out there and passing head-on on Swiss Cheese is, well, it sucks. But, we didn't wait long enough and sure enough, here he comes. Everything went as smoothly as we could have hoped for, including another pass with a loose dog that was running behind his team. Good dogs!
It's nice to get out there again and with snow in the forecast, it can only get better.
I am really, really loving my job and feel fortunate to be part of such an amazing community asset. Plus, I think I've finally got taking clients' blood pressure down.
Between the dogs feeling better, getting back to running, and loving my job and co-workers, I feel optimistic and excited for whatever the future holds. Whether or not we race this year is still up in the air, but I feel like the dogs' recent hiatus has done them a world of good and we are all loving life and having fun!
I hope you all are as well. Happy New Year.
P.S. Wherever you are, please do a little snow dance for us up here!
P.P.S. Thank you again to Mark Atkins for your continued support.
Peace

Her hardest hue to hold

2010-12-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is gearing up for a splendid New Year. Our Christmas was low key as usual, but it was nice to enjoy good food and drink with friends. Christmas day we hung around the cabin, cut firewood, ran dogs, made quiche and opened gifts. It was perfect. I'm getting ready to start work in the New Year and am really looking forward to it. It's been a couple years since I've had a 'real' job (read: one that requires showering on a regular basis) and I think it will be a nice change. Busier, yes, since I'll be running dogs in the mornings and/or evenings depending on my work schedule, but we're not doing super long runs so I think it will be manageable. All the dogs are running, though about half the kennel has picked up some kind of parasite so until we get it figured out completely, the runs are short. We've got meds on order and hopefully they'll be here this week so we can get the dogs healthy and get back to exploring the high country. Until then they're getting plenty of rest and eating a bland diet. We've done a few tours over the past month and have really enjoyed meeting new people and giving them the chance to experience dog mushing with us. Our friends Katy and Franny, who are working for Libby, have been coming over to help with tours and run dogs. They've been a big help and are fun to work with. I'm looking forward to doing some camping trips with them when the dogs are back to 100 per cent. Meanwhile, Rich is working hard on the new bottling facility for the winery and is enjoying being a bona fide builder.
I think that's it for now. Happy New Year from all of us here at the kennel.
Peace.

Found myself just the other day

2010-12-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

Rich and I took two teams out yesterday to explore some of the trails we ran on last winter and I had my first crash of the season. I thought I pulled every muscle from my waist up although this morning I wasn't really as sore as I thought I'd be. Let me paint a little picture for you:
The team was moving nicely up a side-hilly incline and we got to a junction which we call 'Moose Camp.' So far this year, we've gone left. Today I wanted to go right. Since we got new snow, the trail to the left wasn't even there anymore and the trail to the right was a highway, so I figured it wouldn't be an issue. Instinctively, my leaders - Ku and his son Tim - turned left. I stepped on the brake and told them 'Gee!' They went right. Good dogs. But then they ducked back over to the left. 'No, Ku! Gee!' Ku moved back over but this time, since we had moved forward a little, he and Tim went the wrong way around a big hump topped with a big stump. Dammit. I was now in powder, so there was no setting a hook. Well, Ku and Tim were pointed the way I wanted them to go, so we might just have to climb up and over this stumpy hump. So be it. I call the team up and off we went, each pair going up and over. Easy. Until my wheel dogs, Crush and Doyon got there. They went on either side of the stump and Crush's tugline got caught up. Double dammit. The team came to a stop and before I even realized what I was doing I ran up while the team was still fairly calm (confused) and pulled back on the gangline, releasing Crush's tugline and thus sending the whole operation slingshotting forward. I turned to get ready to catch my sled, got hit with the brushbow and rolled onto the sledbag. I grabbed the handlebar, flopped off the sled and, hand over hand, worked my way back. We were heading downhill so I tipped my sled hoping to create enough drag that the dogs would stop momentarily so I could get back on the runners. They did and I did. Off we went, the dogs with a renewed vigor knowing they had dumped me, and me with a parka full of snow and a huge, embarrassed grin on my face.
These days we still not doing big miles but gradually increasing and just having a bit of fun. I've come to the realization that I have to get a real (read: full time) job. I'm still planning on a entering a couple of races at the end of the season and we're still going to do some weekend tours, but taking the winter off from a full time job is just not feasible right now. I put a lot of pressure on myself and it's made things that I used to love doing very, very stressful. So, I'm taking the stress out and getting back to basics. A 1,000 mile race is still on my radar, but not this year and not next. Meanwhile, we've got all the dogs running and they're having fun, too.
Peace.

Heading down the Swiss Cheese Trail.

Ku, on the left, cooling off while Tim looks on.

Million-dollar view.

Back in the dog yard checking feet after the run, the alpenglow cast warm tones on the mountains beyond...and on Mr. Lahey...

Happiness is just outside my window

2010-11-16T09:26:00.001-08:00

Man, I have really become a wimp since moving to Homer. It's 10 degrees (F) outside and I'm all 'This is cold.' Rich keeps reminding me that I used to live in Fairbanks where 11 degrees is T-shirt weather. But still, here I am at 7 a.m. with my wool coat on, huddled on the couch with Roy who is wrapped in a fleece blanket. Sister and Bully are pretty much sleeping on the wood stove. The wind doesn't help. It finds every little nook and cranny in the cabin. I'm actually really excited for colder temps. Hopefully the water holes on the trail from our yard will freeze before our training run tonight. And I like getting bundled up for dog runs. Plus colder weather allows me to eat like a hog and not feel as guilty about it...What? It's cold out!! I need this entire stick of butter!! The dogs are looking really, really good these days. They're happy and strong and we've got some solid leaders with a few young ones that are just oozing potential in the front end. We're still not doing big miles yet, but I'm satisfied with where the team is and am looking forward to getting back on the race trail later in the winter. We're still not sure what races we'd like to do, but that will come. We've divided the dogs into three teams. Currently, Rich is running a 10-dog string, I'm running eight and then I run another eight-dog puppy/oldie/not-interested-in-longer-runs-but-doesn't-really-pull-on-the-short-ones-either (Hitchcock) team, which means all of our dogs get out on a regular basis. We've got enough snow for sleds and the trails are great right now with exception of a few water holes which the dogs handle like champs.

We take off for New York early next week for the family Thanksgiving event and I'm really excited for a holiday. Yes, upstate New York qualifies as a holiday, thank you very much. Our friend Tory will be taking care of the dogs while we're away and has promised to take Roy on a few outings when we're gone.

Rich is still working his butt off at the winery and the new winery building, and I'm working as an Outreach Advocate for the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic. The hours are really flexible which is perfect for running the dogs and my co-workers are really nice. We focus on women's health so I'm actually learning a lot, too.

I'd like to welcome Susan Tavares and Mark Atkins to the Spitfire family. They both made a generous donation to the kennel which will help with dog food and other day-to-day expenses around the kennel this winter. Thank you so much for your support.

I think that's it for now. Time to feed the mutts and head to work.

Peace.

SNOW!!! And lots of it!

Breaking trail after the first big dump on the Swiss Cheese trail.

Deep snow = hard work.

I didn't get you that shovel to lean on!!!!

And now, the trails are beautiful. Coming home on Sunday morning.

Act Three: Corn relish

2010-11-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we've got snow. It's borderline for running the team with a sled but we're very, very close. For now we're still bumping along on the wheeler but are pulling out the sleds this weekend.
We've decided to bite the bullet and buy a snowmachine. We just can't rely on other people to break open trails for us anymore, especially when it really starts snowing here. We also need it for getting wood to heat our cabin.
I took off a couple days ago to visit Libby (Casey) who was in Anchorage from D.C. covering the election for APRN, for whom she works in Washington. We realized we hadn't seen each other in nearly three years!! We both talked a mile a minute and it was so nice to catch up and reminisce. I drove up in a snowstorm and had to keep pulling over just to unclench. I listened to three-year-old podcasts of This American Life because for some reason, Ira Glass really calms me down. Don't ask why because I don't know. "Act one: fishtailed through Sterling. Act two: nearly hit the ditch coming down Turnagain Pass." And on and on. I left the next day in a blizzard but the plows were out and the roads weren't as bad. I returned to new snow here at the old Love Shack and am looking forward to less bumpy times ahead. That's it for now.
Peace
I've been trying to put some pics up, but it's not working and irritating me so you'll just have to imagine for now. Sorry.

Let's pretend we're in Antarctica

2010-10-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

Things are rolling along here. I haven't posted in a while because, well, honestly, I feel like there's not much new to report on. We've been running multiple teams daily to get miles on them because the trails are still a muddy mess. Rich is still working long hours at the winery and we're still trying to get the addition done before winter, which at this rate, is still a while off. The dogs look great and we're all excited for freeze-up. I've taken a part time job with the Katchemak Bay Family Planning Clinic's Outreach Center which I start next week. I'll be helping to educate the public on breast and cervical cancer screening among other things. I'm looking forward to being part of such a worthy cause and such a stand-up organization. I've been doing a little writing on the side and trying to get our little business organized for winter.
That's about it. We're excited for our trip to New York for Thanksgiving.
We're giving the main team a day off today but will run the pups and oldies...I'll take some photos on the run...
Peace

Healthy, free, the world before me

2010-09-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

We've been on the road for the past week or so in, get this, an RV! It really is a home on wheels! Rich's parents made the trek up from Illinois and rented a Winnebago in which we all four piled in and hit the road. We drove down the Parks Highway to Denali National Park where we spent a few days hiking around and looking for wildlife. It's been a nice, relaxing vacation for all four of us and we are very grateful to LouAnn and Bob for this opportunity to get away for a little bit. We arrived in Talkeetna last night and went straight to the local brewery for a pint. The power was out in town as this whole area was hit hard by a wind storm. But we are back up today, the wind has died and we're fixin' to head back to Anchorage. Bob and Lou head back to the real world Sunday morning and Rich and I will drive to Wasilla to pick up a ton of dog food before heading back to Homer. We've been training teams daily and decided it would be okay to give the pups a few days off before we bump up the miles. Here are a bunch of photos from the past week. More updates coming soon.
Peace

Leaving the yard with a team before heading out for our road trip. You can see our cabin with the new addition on the back.

Rich and I coming back from the second run. Tim and Hazel in wheel with old Sister and young Linus in front of them.

The great Denali, North America's highest peak. Here she is on a nice calm day.

The wind was rippin' on Denali a fews later.

The railroad trestle over Riley Creek on our morning hike in Denali.

Me being hilarious and doing the old 'Anyone know when the next train is due?' routine. I'll buy you a Coke if you can tell me what movie that's from. (Family is not allowed to guess.)

Riley Creek in Denali National Park.

Mud meets ice on the Teklanika River farther into the park.

The Teklanika River.

Cool ice on a small creek in Denali. It was pretty chilly while we were there.

Me in the RV. 'Get that camera out of my face!'

RV bliss.

Weird creatures come out at night in the Park. Richard lovin' life on the road.

Take me home, country roads

2010-09-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

The good news is: I'M HOME! The great news is: Our cabin has an addition that's almost done! The best news is: I have a man who loves me and 20-something dogs who are as eager for winter as I am!
Yes, people, I am living the dream.
The last days on the glacier were pretty uneventful. Bad weather, I think. I've pretty much blocked it all out. The transition from ice to ground went surprisingly well. I was saddened to hear that the very tour after I got down to the ground had a woman on it who was looking for me. Apparently, she's been reading the blog and wanted a ride with the Spitfire crew. So, Mrs. So-and-so (sorry, I didn't get your name from Andy) this is an invitation to come to Homer this winter and take a ride with us. Heck, you even have a place to stay with all the room we have now.
Upon arrival back home, Rich and I spent a day relaxing and unpacking. And now we're in full swing with training pups, looking for land and getting ready for the winter tour and race season. We've got a freezer full of moose, salmon, halibut and other goodies for us and the dogs this winter and will picking up our first ton of kibble in the next week or so. The weather here has been clear and sunny with temps cool enough in the mornings to run the dogs. The newest pups are doing great and getting better with each short run. The glacier dogs will be back in action this week and then, I'll be training three teams! Of course, Rich will be there too, but with him still working long days at the winery, most of the training will be left up to me. I can't wait for winter! We still need to stockpile more wood to keep us warm this winter, but we've got enough now for a while yet.
Rich's parents arrive on the 17th for a week or so, and we'll take a few days to road trip with them, which I'm also really looking forward to. I think that's it for now. Expect more regular updates. Here are some photos from our first week training the puppy team. They actually look like real sled dogs now!
Peas.

Homestretch.

Linus and Tim.

Poncho and Lefty.

Angie and Dolly.

Ty and Audrey.

The crew with Ku and Sister in lead.

Bully getting reunited with our little piece of paradise.

And I believe it's gonna rain

2010-08-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Man, sorry about the lack of posts this summer...but...yeah...well, yeah...
On a good note, I've only got two weeks left until I get home to my baby and my little cabin and fall training and a budding winter business and Roy and, and, and...good things are going to happen this winter, I can feel it!! I'm excited to race this season and start in earnest on my book and, and, and....
You know, it's funny, whilst wallowing in my sorrows on the glacier during the endless weather days, I'm surprised to find that I am actually enjoying the people around me. I know! I was surprised this past week when a few of my fellow glacier geeks left early and I was genuinely sad to see them go. I even cried a little...but don't tell anyone....
Peter is recovering down here in Juneau, we've acquired a few more dogs from our friend Greg AND we have a four-wheeler! Things are looking up.
Since I have been too 'blech' to take many photos I'm adding a few taken of me by other people. Stealing them, if you will. Enjoy! All of the following photos were taken by my ex-roomie Tessa and used without permission. Sorry about the sizing...blame Tessa...
Peace.

Trying to get the group assembled for a group photo...Josh's ass kept getting in the way...

Weather-day baseball.

Bully is a camp favorite...here he is on Tessa's bed

A tiny pic of me and puppies.

Weather-day poker game. I just watched this one as it was $100 buy-in...too rich for my blood.

Giving a tour....ah, tours...I remember those...

Weather-day auction. We got random items from our tents and them auctioned them off and traded for other useless things.

Weather-day dog running.

What else do you do with a 33-pound punk?

2010-07-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

You hook her up in single lead and hit the trail!! Mr. Lahey had her first single lead adventure the other day and she AMAZED me! Despite being horribly homesick, having the worst luck of my life over the past few months and being wet and cold while not making any money, this one single dog run made my whole week! Amazing what these dogs can do when you're feeling blue. Aaron and I hooked up a couple teams on one of our (many) weather days last week and went off trail. I tried Lahey up front on her own and she dug in and took charge. I was so proud I wanted to cry. So yeah, instead of moping around feeling sorry for myself I hooked up a couple teams and focused on training new leaders. We haven't done tours in several days and I'm fearing the weather will never get better. But, only six more weeks and then it's home to Homer. I ran into Sebastian Schnuelle last week and he made a good point: Even though we're not making money, this is a good chance to train dogs. So that's what I try to do. I mean, really, what else is there to do when we have no guests and it's pouring rain?
Peter's foot is still infected. It's been two months. I am fearing the worst. He's still on antibiotics and hopefully a vet will be up soon to look at him again. He's been hanging out in my tent a lot so his foot can stay dry, but it's still oozing. His spirits are good though and he's eating well, so we'll see what happens.
The countdown to Homer and my Rich is on!
Peace.

So much beauty it'll make you cry

2010-07-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Last week, we got weathered down on the ground while the other half of the crew got weathered up. We took advantage and went hiking (on my birthday, no less) to the ice caves under the toe of the Mendenhall Glacier. We did get three days of tours in following our stretch of bad weather and then the fog rolled in again. The other crew got weathered on the ground this week while we were weathered up. Finally yesterday, there was a small break in the fog, rain and snow so that we could switch crews and come down. We, and when I say we I mean the South Dog Park crew: Kym, Dustin and Aaron (fellow mushers) Josh and Claire (handlers) and Dale and Martha (boss and cook), are down just long enough to shower and do laundry (and blog) and we're going back up today. It's sunny now so hopefully we can get some tours in. Peter is still at the vet, but hopefully will be returning to the glacier today if the weather stays good. This week I had great guests who asked great questions and had a great time. (I guess one exception was the guy who asked if we were in Alaska. Uh, yeah! I'm not sure where he thought he was, but I just smiled and said yes.) I also started running our yearlings, Ruby and Alice, in lead and they are amazing! I feel like a proud mama. So all in all, pretty good week. I'm still counting the days until I get home to Rich but hopefully our bad weather is over for a while and I can stay busy.
Here are some photos that Kym and I took on our hike to the ice caves.
Peace.
Kym and Dustin on the way to the caves.

Getting there was half the fun. It wasn't a long hike but there was some rock scrambling and river jumping.

Onward!

Kym, me and Tessa at the toe of the glacier.

Heading into the caves. I can't even begin to describe how cool it was. What a nice way to spend my 33rd birthday. It would have been perfect if Rich was there to share this cool adventure.

A completely different world.

Kym raising the roof!

Here I am scrambling.

Look up...look waaaay up...I think I'm looking for my youth in this one...

We returned to the crew house tired, wet and hungry. Martha had graciously prepared a birthday feast and a cake! That's a lot of candles!!

Sometimes the rain must fall

2010-07-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Rich is here in Juneau and all is well in the world again. Today, I'm working on being positive and with Rich here, it's easy. We pick up where we left off, just like we were never apart. Must be love. Meanwhile, this week has been the worst yet on the glacier. I'm just going tell this story and then I am all about being positive. Sneaky Pete has had a festering infection in his foot for weeks. Three different kinds of antibiotics coupled with soaking in Epsom salts twice a day was doing very little. A vet came up, took one look at Peter's foot and said how nasty it was and that he needed to be sent down to the ground for a more extensive exam, x-ray and probably some kind of surgery. I was more than happy to send him down because his foot had been messed up for so long. He went down to Southeast vet clinic upon the request of Juneau vet (also a Quest vet) Nene Wolfe and had his foot opened up, drained and cleaned with a culture sent to a lab to see exactly what the infection is. Peter is a young male who is an amazing leader but a hard keeper. With him being on the ground and me being up on the glacier, obviously I was concerned about his recovery and often asked my bosses to ask about him when they were in radio contact with the ground. Thursday morning one of the ground crew told us he had good news and bad news about Peter. The good news was that the procedure went well and was performed by one of the owners of Southeast vet. The bad news was, and this is where I exploded into expletives, Peter 'got away from them' and had been running around Juneau with an injured foot and a cone on his head since the night before. Yes. It's true. They let my dog go. So Thursday, the next day, Rich arrived in Juneau for our lovely, romantic birthday weekend, but I, still swearing at anyone who would listen, was stuck up on the glacier because the fog had rolled in. Rich spent the night with some AIE peeps searching for Peter. When they went home at 10 p.m., Rich stayed out until after 1 in the morning. People had been spotting Peter in various neighborhoods and animal control ran around trying to catch him. To say that Peter was scared is the understatement of the century. Finally, late Friday afternoon, with Peter on the loose for 48 hours, the weather cleared and I got down to the ground. We rallied the troops, my co-workers, fellow mushers and handlers and started searching. We saw him many times but he was not coming to anyone, even me. People in the neighborhood started coming out of their houses to look. Cars were driving past yelling 'We just saw him over there!' and 'We jumped out of the car to try and get him, but he's fast!' A woman even drove up with border collie and tried to herd Peter. It was awesome. I don't know if it was that people cared about our dog, or rather that he was becoming a massive traffic hazard and had dodged cars several times on a four-lane highway. Regardless, we rallied. In the end, about two hours later, it was my former handler Ben who chased Peter into a backyard, cornered him at a dead end and grabbed him. I was so happy that Peter was finally safe and that Rich and I still had a day to relax and enjoy each other. Peter is back at the vet for a second surgery to fix the damage caused by two days of running. He'll stay at the vet until he is sent back directly to me. Positive end to a ridiculously negative story. Sigh. Most of the week was weathered out again. Monday is my birthday. A new year and a new week. A new week of me being positive. Thanks for your help, Juneau.
Peace

Peter, on the right, when he was healthy. Here's wishing a speedy recovery to my Sneaky One.

Happy Father's Day, Cliffy!!

2010-06-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

A word about my pop: He's fantastic.
A word about weather days on the glacier: They suck. Nice segue, eh?
This week on the glacier was full of crappy weather which means, very few tours. Which in turn means, I don't get paid. Yes, we get paid by the tour and when the tours don't come, we sit in the rain, in our tents and make the best of it. I learned how to crochet. I am also the reigning champ at speed Scrabble. Sorry this is a short post, but we're on our way back up to the glacier. I'll post more next time, I promise. Thank you to all the supporters who have left comments or emailed me, I really appreciate it. Meanwhile, enjoy photos of my first three attempts to crochet myself a hat. None of them fit my head, thought the last one was really close.
Peas.

The first one. I tried to add stitches too fast and so it made really ruffled edges. We decided it would be best suited for a fancy monkey.

Instead, I gave it to Kyle.

The second one. This one would fit a toddler so I gave it to Adam to send to his nephew.

The third one. It would fit on my head if I shaved off all my hair, but I wasn't willing to do that, so I gave it to Kym. Now I'm out of yarn.

Get Rich or die tryin'

2010-06-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Being away from someone you love is very hard. And I started early. After college, I moved clear across the country about 5,000 miles from my family to work in the Yukon. Now, many (many) years later, I find myself living on a glacier missing my Rich, who is 1,000 miles away in the same state. The good news is, he misses me just as much! We talk once a week and, weather permitting, we'll see each other in a couple weeks when he flies in from Homer to Juneau for a couple days. He might even come up and spend a night on the glacier. He'll be here July 1st (Canada Day) until July 4th, also known as...the day before my birthday!! It's all very exciting for me.
The weather on the glacier has been unusually good this year so far. Only two weather days in five weeks. That's pretty much unheard of. We have had to cancel a few tours here and there as the fog rolls in and out (helicopters don't fly when it's foggy) but on the whole, it's been great. Sunny days means tours and tours means I get paid. (mushers don't get paid when it's foggy). And the whole reason for being separated from my sweet boy was to make money to race this winter. So fingers crossed for more clear days. As all the mushers, handlers, photogs and managers get to know each other at the glacier camp, the job is getting a little more fun. We all get along amazingly well and though there isn't much in the way of extracurricular activities (we're all too tired) we make work fun. Also, even though tips weren't great this week, I had two different people tell me that this was the best thing they've done in their whole lives. In their whole lives! I think that's pretty cool.
Here's a whole heap of photos to illustrate a morning in the life on the Mendenhall Glacier camp.
Peas.

I roll out of bed, actually I roll out of sleeping bag on a plywood cot, at 6 a.m. and immediately go to the yard to scoop dog poo. All my buckets have my name on them as things have a way of disappearing.

My harness rack. The harnesses are tied at night just in case the wind picks up.

This morning was pretty foggy. These are my sleds waiting to be flipped up and tied off.

The south park dog-food hut. There are four dog lots in south park and four in north park. We feed Dr. Tim's Momentum and the dogs are doing really, really well on it.

Burt waiting for breakfast.

Burt getting interrupted by me. If you look closely, you can see the drool.

The fog is lifting. You can see the Mendenhall Towers.

Lifting.

Lifting.

Gone! All in about 30 minutes. Crazy weather.

The sun is out, time for zinc on the pink noses. Codfish hates it but we have to protect the dogs from the sun.

Summer sporting her zinc nose.

Finally time for breakfast. Martha is our cook and she is AWESOME!!

Soon the guests arrive.

Here's my team on the trail with my first batch of guests for the day. Sorry it's a big blurry, but you get the idea. And so on the hour for the rest of the day we hook up and unhook teams to take people from all around the globe out on the glacier via dog team. Not a bad gig.

We all try harder as the days run out

2010-05-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

My face feels leathery. Like an old catcher's mitt. Despite slathering on layers and layers of SPF 50 sunblock, I have a dark tan/burn on my face. I wear big glacier glasses to protect my eyes and thus have the worst tan lines ever. I'm serious. I look like a freak. We all have it, but still.
Despite my freakish raccoon tan, things are rolling along swimmingly on the Mendenhall Glacier. We're getting ever busier and I'm exhausted. The dogs are doing great despite very hot temperatures the last several days. They don't run much compared to winter training, but they're pulling heavy loads in punchy conditions and it's just enough to keep them active and happy. Plus, they get loads of pets and pats from kind strangers. Mr. Lahey, with her blue eyes and fair skin isn't doing so well and will most likely get sent down to the ground to run with a friend and super dog driver who is working for AIE's cart-tour operation. I'm sad at the thought of sending my celebrity micro-tiny away, but it's the best thing for her health.
I miss Rich terribly, but am busy enough now that at least I can focus on that. He is working his butt off at the winery and we are both saving every penny for the winter. I don't have any new photos to share but tomorrow I am pulling out my big camera to try and capture some of the beauty and goings-on up on the Mendenhall. I'll post again when I come down Thursday night.
Peace

It's so bad, it's got to be good

2010-05-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Down on dry land once again and it is oh, so good. I never thought I'd say this, but it's good to get out of the sun...my earlobes are sunburnt!! Ouch. The dogs and I are adjusting well to life on the glacier. I'm loving the tours and have met some amazing people from every corner of the world. I gave a tour to a family from Dubai the other day. Crazy. Lots of Aussies and families from India and all over South America. I usually wind up asking my guests more questions about where they live than they ask about the dogs.
It's been challenging keeping the dogs eyes healthy but I've been very proactive about giving drops and getting the dogs with more sensitive peepers out of the sun. The days are getting busier as the season gets underway and before I know it, it's 10 p.m. and I am more than ready to snuggle into my sleeping bag. Our weatherport tent is cozy with a little propane heater and my sleeping bag is good to 40 below, so even though it dips below freezing at night, I'm usually pretty comfortable at night. We have a chef that cooks all our meals and the food has been spectacular. Too good, even...I eat way too much.
I've been running Nova and Bully in lead with less experienced dogs and so far every dog has been doing a great job. It's nice to have them working in the off-season again.
Here are some photos from around the camp.
Peace.

Running dogs in paradise.

'Upgrade' wearing a pair of doggles to protect his eyes from the sun. Yes, it's a real thing.

The kitchen tent.

Andy demonstrates our morning ritual: sunscreen and lots of it!

And big sunglasses. Ear protection is also good when the helicopters are in.

Kyle and Alissa discuss the stock market and world events.

The camp from the air.

The sun no longer sets me free

2010-05-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delay, but I've been...LIVING ON A GLACIER!! Glacier life has been interesting. The weather changes on a dime and it's hard to stay dry...but all in all, it has been an adventure that I won't soon forget. I have that 'I-live-on-a-glacier' tan line around my eyes. But rather than bore you with lots of words, I've decided to post photos of our trip to Juneau and my first weeks on the Medenhall Glacier. The season is just getting underway so we're not that busy yet but oh, the tourists will come. And we can't wait! I've had some great people already...including, but not limited to, an awesome couple from Arizona. I miss Rich more than I could ever write here but I know he misses me just as much, so we're getting by. More on my next day on the ground.
Peace.

Dog noses poking out at our first stop in Chistochina. We stayed with our good friends Darrin and Heidi after a long day of driving.

On the second night, we stayed at Kathleen Lake outside of Haines Junction, Yukon.

It was beautiful and secluded.

My two best boys: Rich and Bully.

Rich and Joe testing the ice on Kathleen Lake.

We woke up to several inches of fresh snow.

Upon arrival on the glacier, I was overwhelmed by the beauty.

Our tent city.

My dog yard.

Inside my tent, which is pretty much always cold and which I share with two other girls

Tourists on the tag sled and a loose dog running behind.

Each day after tours we walk the trail to scoop up poo. This is fellow musher Kym, and our handler Ben.

My trail-scooping mobile. I take a small team out to scoop trail. In lead on this day was Foxy and Peter.

Coming into Juneau for my first day off. I was almost two weeks on the glacier before I was able to come down to the ground for a shower!

The rest is left unwritten

2010-04-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, after a sad and busy week, the final countdown to Juneau is on. There are just a few days left here in Homer before Rich and I pack up all the dogs (minus the pups and Roy) and hit the open road. We're taking three days to get to Haines before we hop on a ferry to Juneau and then I'll helicopter to my new home on the Mendenhall Glacier for FIVE MONTHS! On the way we'll stop in Willow at Russ Bybee's place to pick up 10 more dogs that I will care for on the glacier. Our friend Joe is making the trip with us and he and Rich will drive the truck back to Homer. We bought a large trailer and Rich and Joe build a new dog box on it so the dogs can ride in style and comfort. I will do my best to update the blog whilst in Juneau but I will only come down from the glacier for one day a week and that's if the weather cooperates. I am really excited about this new adventure. I can't wait to get started. I've got my sunscreen and glacier glasses packed, that's for sure! The weather here has turned warm and rainy but we squeezed one more run in with the dogs on Saturday and it was bliss. The snow is melting quickly but there is still about three feet and it's very slushy. I just finished writing dog bios for the Bear Creek Winery website and will post them on the blog, too. I'll try to post again from the road but connections may be scarce. Here are some photos from our last run.
Peace.

Bully in single lead cooling off.

Strider rolling in the snow to cool off.

Our yearlings Ruby and Alice. They trot just like their dad!

Beautiful scenery.

Hazel Ashwell Rogers 1921-2010

2010-04-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

My Gran passed away this morning. She was loved and will be missed very, very much.
She was born on October 8, 1921 in North Croydon, near London, England, of Arthur Henry Ashwell and Victoria Maude Ashwell (nee Eveleigh).
In her 20s, she worked as a switchboard operator for various establishments including the Savoy Hotel in London where she once connected a call from Frank Sinatra to Ava Gardner. She was in London during World War II, where she survived several close calls. In one such close call, Gran was walking down the street when a Messerschmitt flew low and began strafing the boulevard. Someone in a doorway grabbed my Gran and pulled her into the building as the bullets went whizzing by. Another time, my Gran was in the middle of heavy bombing when a building near her blew up and a man in a bathtub landed in the street. The bathtub saved his life and decades later my Gran would tell my sister and I that story and laugh.
In 1948, when my dad was just three months old, my Gran, Grampa and father immigrated to Canada from England on the Queen Elizabeth. They landed in Toronto and moved to Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory, where my grandfather worked communications on the Alaska Highway. My Gran had her hands full with my father, who was just a baby, but she made time to learn and live off the land. She learned how to shoot and won medals in target shooting. She learned how to make bread and other food from the Native people. She meet and befriended Babe Southwick who was a pioneer for women dog mushers. She would ride in Babe’s sled while Babe trained for the Rendezvous races. My uncle was born in Whitehorse and still my Gran embraced the adventures that the wild Northwest had to offer. She was the one they would call when a man was cut up in a bar fight and needed to be stitched up as there was no doctor there.
Sadly, my grandfather fell out of love with Gran and moved away with his new love. Gran followed him with the two boys to Brockville, Ontario. When Gran, my father and my uncle got there, they had nothing. They lived in the Capital Hotel. Gran hired a lawyer to help with the divorce. His name was John Matheson. The same John Matheson who is now known as the Father of the Flag in Canada as he designed the Canadian Flag which was adopted in 1964 soon after Matheson was elected as a Member of Parliament.
Soon after arriving in Brockville, my Gran met Josef Sidorowicz. He became uncle Joe to us and he my Gran were together for nearly 50 years.
By the time I came around, Gran worked the switchboard at Brockville General Hospital. I can remember going in to visit her in her little booth. I also remember her house on Pearl Street in Brockville: a red brick, two-story duplex with a raised garden behind the garage where Gran grew cherry tomatoes. I remember that house and her old cat Frisky who was just plain mean. Gran used to have little cans of apple juice in the fridge for us and sometimes we’d get to stay overnight. Each December, my sister and I would perch on the stoop outside Gran’s house waiting for the Santa Claus parade to pass. It was a primo spot to watch because it was near the launching point of the parade so none of the people in the parade were bored or tired yet. She moved to a smaller house on Park Street when I was a teenager and that was great for us because Cowan’s Dairy was right across the street whenever we needed an ice cream fix.
Though over the past dozen years or so, her body had started to fail, she was as sharp as a tack. She spoke her mind freely and had a wit that I like to think I inherited. Before I left for the Yukon after college I helped take care of Gran when she was unable to care for herself. She confided in me then about her life and I saw her cry for the first time. By the time she moved into a room at Sherwood Park Manor, she had lost the lower half of a leg after an infection caused by an injured ankle. It didn’t stop Gran. Though she was in her 80s, she learned how to walk with a prosthetic leg. She also learned how to use a computer and would regularly read my blog to see how I was doing. We talked via Skype every Thursday morning until November when Gran had a stroke that robbed her of some of her functions, although if you really looked in her eyes, you could see she was still there. I went to visit her in November after her stroke and that was the last time I saw her in person.
Gran loved my parents’ dog Buddy and she loved being British. She had a Union Jack on the back of her electric wheel chair. She loved me and loved that I am doing what I’m doing way up North. She loved that I named Hazel after her and that my kennel is Spitfire Kennels. The Spitfire was a small British fighter plane in WWII.
My father, my sister and her best friend Inger were with her when she died. I wish I would have been, but I’m sure she knows that I was always with her even though we were so far apart.
I love you, Gran.

Me and my Gran.

Here's Gran in the Yukon.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

2010-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

We're flying through April busy getting plans finalized for my summer adventure on the glacier. We bought a trailer (gulp) and Rich is going to build a giant dog box so we can haul 30 dogs more than 900 miles to Juneau. The dogs will ride in comfort by road to Haines where we'll catch a ferry to Juneau then we'll load the dogs up on a helicopter for the final stretch up to the glacier. Should be interesting to say the least! I'll be snapping lots of photos for you all to witness the madness. We still have a lot of snow here and the trails are in excellent shape. I was hoping for a little bit of spring before heading to my home of ice and snow for the summer, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Spring mushing is fun, though. Photos of all our recent misadventures coming soon.
Peace

No need to be coy, Roy

2010-03-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'll be on the move again in a few weeks. I'm heading to the Medenhall Glacier in Juneau to work for Alaska Icefield Expeditions taking guests out on dog team across the glacier. I'm taking 20 of our dogs and borrowing 10 more from a friend in Willow. I'm really excited about this opportunity to have the dogs running, even if just a little, in the off-season. I'll miss the winery (saying that they've been good to me is the understatement of the century) but working with the dogs on a glacier is a chance I don't want to pass up. Rich will hold down the fort here and get our ducks in a row for next season. Roy, Audrey, Linus and Ty will stay here with Rich. This season is winding down but we still have tons of snow and we still have tours booked into April. Even though I couldn't get it together to race at all this year, I feel like we accomplished a lot with the dogs. They ran a lot with no pressure or stress and our little tour business has been more successful than we anticipated. We're excited to expand next season and get back into racing. Both Rich and I have a few races we want to do next winter and hopefully I can save enough money on glacier so I won't have to work much during the training/racing season.
More details to come.
Peace

Dye my eyes and call me pretty

2010-03-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Rich's parents have been here for a week and we've had a great time. They needed to de-stress and simply relax so we hung around Homer and went dogsledding up at our place. The time went too fast as usual and they are heading out today. Thanks for everything Bob and Lou Ann!
I've got some news but I'll wait to share that. Meanwhile, here are a whole lot of photos from the past couple days. We've got some big tours coming up this weekend and we're looking forward to them. The snow is plentiful and the weather has been beautiful. I love spring mushing!
Peace

I call this one 'Bob with puppies.' The weather was so warm yesterday, we just sat outside all afternoon.

Bob took this one of Lou Ann during a puppy attack.

Flying puppy! Our puppies are jumping for joy!

Omar cooling off during a run.

Lou driving her mini-team with Lahey and Bully in lead. Bob's close behind with his own team.

Bob working the trail with Capiche and Drake in lead.

Dog butts.

This is my attempt at a Yummy Chummy sponsorship. 'Even sled dogs will do stupid pet tricks for a Yummy Chummy!'

Lou dumped Rich on the trail.

I gave the dogs a break and hooked up Rich. Hup, hup, Rich!

Heelllloooooo....Bob took this cute one of Mr. Lahey.

Bully doesn't need a Yummy Chummy to high five Rich. Bob took this one, too.

Snuggling with Audrey who looks absolutely terrified.

I made it down the coast in 17 hours

2010-03-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

It's calm. Clear and calm. We've been enveloped in a crazy blizzard since we arrived home from Anchorage Sunday night. The storm actually started Thursday night, we dug out Friday morning and hit the road for Iditarod start. The storm took a break Sunday and then started up again Sunday night. As much as I complain about the weather here (it's so easy) the blizzard was actually a little bit fun. Rich and I have been digging dogs out constantly, picking up their houses and setting them atop the huge drifts. Within hours, the houses would be completely buried and we head out to rescue them again. The most interesting thing about it to me, was that the dogs didn't seem to care. They were out with wagging tails, playing with each other never fazed by the gusting winds and huge drifts building up around them. Of course Roy and Bully were inside for the entirety (they also came to Anchorage with us) and we brought Capiche in as she is located at the end of the dog lot and her house was getting buried the fastest. She's good in the house unless you leave her in unsupervised and then she tries to jump on the counters/tables. She knocked the computer off the 'table' when we were outside and now we're missing the ':' key.
The Iditarod start was a lot of fun and it was nice to see friends and fellow mushers that we haven't talked to in over a year.
Last week, before we left for the big city, we were hired to help with a three-day tour hosted by Adventure Alaska based out of Hope. Because of the weather moving in and at the risk of getting stuck out at the remote lodge we were using, we made a decision to cut the tour short by a day. We were all disappointed, but the safety of clients and dogs must come first and in the end, we made a great choice. Mine and Rich's people were amazing and I think they had a great time running dogs. Actually, all seven clients were really nice and very understanding of the situation. Rich and I are looking forward to doing more multi-day trips in the future.
Anyway, I think that's all the news that isn't, so here are some photos from the past week or so.
Peace.

Digging to the outhouse...hurry! hurry!

My peeps: Larry and Jeannie from California. They drove their own teams and were fantastic!

Rich and his peeps: Diane and Bob, a very kind and generous couple also from California.

Our friend and Rich's running mate in the 2008 Iditarod, Trent Herbst is back for another 1,000-miler to Nome. Go Trent!!

High-fives all around at the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. That's Ken and Gwen over to the far right.

The one, the only, Jeff King. King has had a great season thus far and has said this will be his last Iditarod. I think he has the momentum to pull off a fifth win. Here he is at the ceremonial start on skis with a G-pole sled. I wonder how his Iditarider felt about staring at King's butt for 11 miles...

Iditarod veteran Karen Ramstead is from Alberta. She is awesome and as tough as nails. We love our Maple Leaf mittens!

Schnuelle for governor? Absolutely! Sebastian also has the drive and motivation to pull off a win this year...it's heating up to be a great race!

The man: Sebastian Schnuelle from Whitehorse.

Home sweet Homer.

The true North strong and free

2010-02-25T11:59:00.000-08:00

I worked a little late last night and met some friends at the Down East Saloon for a beer afterwards. I had received a parcel from my parents over there in Canuckistan earlier in the day and was wearing my new spoils: a pair of red, Canada Flag Olympic mittens. I walked into the bar wearing the mittens and doing the 'raising the roof' motion while clucking like a wounded bird. I immediately regretted my obnoxious actions. All the gnarled locals at the bar were giving me death stares and Patty, my 'friend', threw one behind the bar. (I got it back) An irate drunk woman in the corner, who was wearing a rainbow hat and sorting through a deck of playing cards adorned with naked men (I am not making this up), stated yelling at me to go back to Canada. I actually feared for my safety for a second. Then I took the sarcastic high road which again, nearly resulted in me getting my ass kicked, and told the inebriate that we are a kind and gentle people and that maybe she should go spend some time in Canada so that she too could become kind and gentle. She didn't like that one bit. I eventually put the mittens away for fear of my physical well being.
The gold medal women's hockey game is today. I'm wearing my mittens and really, really hoping for a win. Mostly so I can tell Patty to stuff it. Oop-oop!
Peace.

When the bottom drops, my life won't change a bit

2010-02-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

I got a new headlamp the other day. I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but it really, really was. Rarely do I have the opportunity the buy new gear, but when I do, it makes my day. This one is bright. Really bright. It makes a huge difference on my night runs as I can see the entire team and down the trail a bit. I haven't posted in a while because there's really nothing new. Still running dogs, still working. That's about it. We've booked a few tours for March and April and I even got an email this morning about doing a tour in May, but I think that's a bit too late in the season, even for here where the snow seems to stick around forever. We've had some really nasty wind storms with warm temps (35 to 40) rain and lots of heavy, wet snow, so once again, training slowed a little. I'm wondering about racing at all this season, but we'll see. I took the 'race' team out last night and hit wind in the high country. The trail had blown in and neither the dogs or I were very confident in which direction to go. The result was me trying set my hooks in powder, unhooking tugs and turning the team around repeatedly. I was soaked in sweat and the dogs were confused and to be honest I was a little scared. This happened three times. If it had been daylight I might have just kept going but I really don't know these trails well enough in the dark to guess. So the run was cut a little shorter than I'd like, but the snow was deep and the dogs got a good workout (so did I!) anyway. I'll take them out again today and try for a 40 or 50-miler, but it's windy again so we'll see how far we get. With new snow and snowmachines zipping all over the place making new trails where there weren't any before, I get confused. I've been running Pete and Hazel in lead and they're doing pretty good at listening to me. Sometimes they'll even find the right trail when I have no idea where it is. Good lead dogs, indeed. If nothing else training in these less-than-ideal conditions has been good for my confidence as a driver. I hate running the dogs in such warm temps, but I've given up waiting for it to get cold here. We've been running the pups Alice and Ruby consistently and they look awesome! Maude's pups Audrey, Linus and Ty are growing like weeds and happy little ones. Roy is more annoying than ever, but I think he's getting sick, so I'll lay off him for today. Poor Roy.
OK, that's it from dog house.
Peace.

I'll tell them I found Jesus, that should throw them off

2010-01-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

I'm reading this book called 'Lamb. The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal' and it is funny. Rarely does a book make me laugh out loud, but this one does and often. So, I guess my point is: read it. It's been around for a while and I've been meaning to pick up for over a year now. I'm glad I did. You won't be disappointed. Unless of course, you are religious and then you might be offended, but I think you'll still laugh.
Anyway, here are some snapshots from the top of the world and one blurry one from a tour we had on Saturday. Despite all my complaining about the weather (it's 33 F right now) we live in a beautiful place.
Peace

Heading home in the setting sun. Peter and Hazel (two of the original six Spitfires) in lead. Sneaky Pete is finally coming around as a great leader.

Jason showed me some new trails on Sunday. It's a shame because I won't remember them...I never do...

Top o' the World...or least it feels like it.

Coming down.

Rich and guests on a Saturday morning tour. We have been so lucky with great guests.

Runnin' down a dream...with a sore paw...

2010-01-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Rich and I needed a happy distraction so we took out two teams for a low-key, 12-mile run. Of course, we couldn't catch Roy to tether him before we left, so he came along with us, running at first in front of, then behind, my team. Unfortunately for Roy, he had a sore leg after getting his ass kicked in a dog yard the day before. So about four miles in, he started hobbling along. I wanted to load him in the sled, but I couldn't catch him. He's one sneaky Saluki...or whatever the hell he is. He went the distance however and we got some funny photos of our micro-adventure. I also wanted to say thanks for those who commented on my last post. Your support is very much appreciated.
Here are pics.
DISCLAIMER: These photos suck, but remember, I was taking them from a moving dog sled...
Peace.

This was at the start of the run. ROY: 'Tra-la-la-la...running along...la la-la...still running...'

Roy slowing down a little.

Seeing how close Richard's team was...they were sneaking up on him...

Too close! Too close! Rich couldn't resist...In case you can't tell, that's Roy's ass and muscley back leg...

I guess I was going too slow. That's Hazel on the left and (yes, it's true!) Strider on the right in lead!

Headed home, still laughing about Roy almost getting run over. Capiche and Sneaky Pete were in lead on my little team.

They might be bigger, but we are never scared

2010-01-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

Each evening, after feeding the dogs, we let Roy loose. He causes some barks in the yard but mostly just meanders around for an hour or two before throwing himself against the cabin door so he can curl up on his bed by the wood stove for the night. Last night I let him loose after Patty and I took out two teams on an uber fun run. Now, I don't let Roy loose when either I or Jason (our landlord with whom we share a dog lot) are going out with a team as Roy will give chase. I didn't think Jason was going out on a second run and hence, unhooked Roy from his post at the head of the yard. A few hours later, with Roy Boy still cruising around outside, Jason started hooking up his team. When you want/need to catch Roy, it's impossible. But as it happens, I completely forgot he was loose. Jason took off with Roy in hot pursuit. When I realized what had happened, I was immediately worried that Roy would get tired, fall behind and get lost. He didn't. Jason ran his B-string 22 miles and Roy kept up, even leading the charge at some points, for the entire run. He wasn't even sore or tired. Good boy, Roy. I expected Jason to be pissed when he got back, but said he actually liked having Roy running with him. No harm, no foul.
I've been pondering a lot lately. Pondering life. Pondering dogs. Pondering what the hell that smell is under the bed. So yeah, thinking about a little bit of everything, really.
I've come to some conclusions about life. Get your pens, folks, you'll want to remember this one.
Be happy.
That's it.
Just be happy.
I know, I know. You're asking yourselves why I don't write a self-help book. Well, I have. And here it is.
Be happy.
It's an easy read, really.
The point of this oh-so profound mantra is that while training has been going good, it's not been great. I lost faith in the dogs and they know it. It got to the point (this morning) where I had to say it out loud. 'This isn't fun.'
Running dogs, living off the grid, hauling water...well, I love it all. But the stress of trying to complete such a regimented training schedule, well, it's too much. For right now. Last winter was great as Rich and I weren't working (we had saved enough money from the summer) and just went out with the dogs. I didn't plan too much, we just mushed because it was fun. And when a race came along and the dogs looked good, we raced. I must interject here and say that even when we participate in 'races' we're not really 'racing.' Well, I'm not anyway. As my good pal Heidi said last night, it's more like 'competitive camping.'
I digress.
So this winter, I've been stressed about 'racing.' We can't afford it. And the thought of me being ready (mentally, dog-wise or financially) for Iditarod next year it just outrageous.
I'm not saying that Iditarod is not my ultimate goal. I know I'll get there at some point (the Serum Run, a non-competitive event that follows Iditarod trail, is also an option) but it's not going to be next year. I have received so much support since I started this silly blog and for that, I am grateful. But the dogs' happiness comes first. Like I said, I'll sign up for various races, but I need the pressure to be off for now.
I want to be confident and experienced and I want the dogs to work hard but enjoy it at the same time. I love running dogs. And I love sharing it with guests who come here for tours. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. Run dogs for the fun of it!
Patty and I hooked up two teams (all the dogs went out) today for a short fun run. I walked into the dog yard with renewed confidence and the dogs knew it immediately. They were screaming to go. I need the dogs to be happy and as of late, they've been stressed simply because I've been stressed. But today was great.
And I can't wait to go again tomorrow.
Peace

Patty with the second team. Old man Bull and Hazel in lead. The had a lot of fun playing 'Kill Patty.' On the home stretch, they cut a corner short at a full out lope and flung Patty into a tree. Though it was just a scratch on her nose, it bled like crazy. Man, I wish I had cool injuries like that. The worst I've gotten from mushing is bruises on my legs and low self-esteem.

Roy enjoying some light reading.

Our babes. Linus, on the right, and Audrey playing tug-o-war with a sock.

Skedaddle with the cattle prods

2010-01-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Winter is rolling along here at Spitfire Kennels. We've had really warm weather and then 'cold' weather, snow and rain. The trails are fast and icy, but they are there and I'm not complaining. Our first race is coming up fast and though it's just a 100-miler, I'm still a little unsure. I'm going into it with no expectations, I just want the dogs to have fun and I want our two yearlings in training (Mr. Lahey and Bubbles) to have a great experience camping and running around other teams and on some new trail. We did a camping trip a few days ago - ran four hours, rested four and ran three - the everyone did great. Bubbles had a hard time settling down at the camp spot, but she eventually realized that everyone around her was resting and so, about an hour before our scheduled departure, she too rested. I had to load Sipsi in the sled on the way home as she had a little hitch in her stride, but I still haven't been able to find the source of her discomfort. I took out a team for a quick 20-miler yesterday before work and she looked better, but still not 100 per cent. She may be out for a while. Tomorrow we'll take two teams (we'll have to borrow a few dogs) on a five to six-hour run and then hopefully do another camping trip overnight on the weekend. The trails here are harder than I'm used to, but it's been great for building my confidence in sled driving. The day after our little camping trip, I was so sore, I couldn't believe it. I didn't drink much water out there and I'm guessing that's why although I did have a few spills around a tight corner and a creek crossing. The wind kicked up on our trip and we had to cross some exposed ridges which forced me to continuously wrestle with my sled to keep it from blowing down the mountain....memories of last year's GinGin 200 came flooding back though this time it wasn't half as bad.
Work is also rolling along and we've got several tours booked from now until April. Rich and I are getting a little itchy to get out of here for a side trip with the dogs, but it doesn't make financial sense as we have 100s of miles right out of our back yard, so we'll wait.
The pups - Audrey, Ty and Linus - have officially gone from cutie pies to obnoxious. They love running loose but in the house, they are terrors...still cute, I have to admit. They eat like alligators and are super friendly. Our other pups - Cinch, Alice and Ruby are also still enjoying puppyhood and are getting braver by the day. We let them loose and they run down the trail, sometimes gone for a while, but they always come back tired and happy.
Roy is Roy. Spoiled with the run of dog yard and the cabin. Old man Bully is still in the race team and has actually been leading for a lot of the runs. The rest of the dogs are in good shape and good spirits which makes me happy.
OK, not very interesting, but an update nonetheless.
Photos to come.
Peace.

Yes, John Balzar, you can say 'dog tired'

2010-01-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

The holidays have come and gone. Our Charlie Brown tree is still up and we're still eating homemade goodies. We had a great Christmas with friends and neighbours, did a few tours and got some good training runs in. New Year's Eve was quiet. We decided, after much deliberation, to stay in. I drank five Miller Lite's and 'fell asleep' by 11:30. Oh well.
It's still warm here but we're still training. The warm (like, above freezing warm) temps make running a little harder for the dogs, but the risk of injury is less. In fact, we've had no injuries to speak of so far this season. Sister's back end keeps cramping up, but we weren't going to race with her anyway, so now she's on puppy patrol. She runs on the tour teams also, and loves it. I'll do some longer runs this weekend and will camp with the yearlings for the first time. Should be interesting. Young dogs need to learn how to rest when it's time to rest, but they catch on quickly. Lahey has been a superstar in lead. Bubbles, Lahey's sister, is a hard worker but balks at snowmachines, glare ice and open water, so a leader she is not. Not yet, anyway. We run her in swing (behind lead) though and when we know the trail will be straight and easy with no obstacles, we put her up front for a short time. Anyway, our first race is the T-100 on the 23rd. The T-100 is a shorter version of the Tustumena 200. I want to race with the yearlings this year and figure a 100-miler is a nice way to ease them into it.
We're getting internet at our cabin next week (no power or water, but high speed, baby!!) so updates will be more abundant.
Stay tuned.
Peace

Happy holidogs from Spitfire Kennels!

2009-12-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

As Christmas gets closer, Rich and I are actually getting into the holiday spirit....even though we tried to resist. I had a burst of energy the other night so I went out in the snow and wind, plowed through chest-deep snow and hacked down a spindly spruce tree. We don't have room for it in the cabin, so I stuck it in a snow bank right outside. I decorated it with scrap ribbon and dog booties. Then I hung our stockings beside the wood stove. We're ready. We've been receiving colorful packages and homemade baked goods from Rich's family, which we have been scarfing down. Thank you, Maureen and Dave!! We got our Christmas bonus from work and used some of it for some small gifts for each other. My stocking is already weighed down and it's taking all my strength not to peek inside. Anyway, we're been training sporadically as the winds and new snow have covered the trails. The dogs are doing well at breaking trail, but it's a slog. Yesterday, we were scheduled to have our first tour, but had to postpone the ride part as the temps rose to 40 F and the trails were non-existent with drifts and heavy snow. Rich tried to break through the snow and two-foot drifts with the snowmachine, but to no avail. The guests understood and we still spent a couple of hours with the dogs, puppies and enjoying soup and hot chocolate in the cabin. We're aiming for Sunday for the ride. I'm thinking more people will be out on the trail over Christmas.

Anyway, below are some photos of our Christmas cabin.

Peace

Walking the line between faith and fear

2009-12-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

OK, I lied. I had H1N1. Have. Swine Flu. Gack! Man, it really kicked my butt. I missed almost two weeks of work. Double gack. And dog training was sporadic. But, I'm at about 80 per cent now and back on the sled. We're doing some longish runs and my goal is still the Copper Basin in mid-January. If not, then the Taiga 300 in mid-February. Then, in March, I'm planning on running the Two Rivers 200. We'll see how money holds up, but I need to do as many races as possible to qualify for Iditarod. And when I say qualify, I mean not just on paper (you need 750 miles of sanctioned racing to get to the Iditarod start) but also actually be qualified through experiences, trials and tribulations. Things have been up and down on the home front. We're in the middle of a blizzard right now...MORE SNOW...and the generator has been broken for over a week now, which means we have no power. I've been sucking down Vitamin D like it's candy to try and avoid the temptation to stick my head in the oven. I kid. (not really) The dogs are all really good. They're in good shape, they're spirits are high and we're all getting itchy for our first camping trip, which will be coming up shortly. Maude had three pups a few weeks back and they're at the perfect age right now. Not too bitey. We named them Audrey, Linus and Ty. Yes, it was unplanned, but we're in love with them and the breeding happened between two of our best young dogs.
In a few days, the longest night will happen and then, thank Dog, we'll be gaining daylight slowly but surely.
I've had an offer to cover the Yukon Quest this year for KUAC, the NPR affiliate in Fairbanks. I'm not sure yet, but I'm seriously considering it. Anyway, here are a couple of photos.
Peace.

The newest Spitfires. From left, Audrey, Linus and Ty.

After a 30-mile training run the other night, Rich's leaders Hazel and Omar, jumped into the nearest house as soon as we got back into the yard. They were still hooked to the front of the team. We really don't encourage or appreciate that behaviour, but it was pretty damn cute.

Too much of a good thing

2009-12-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I made it back to AK. It was another 12 hours of flying and I got home sick as a dog (NOT swine flu) with four feet of snow at our place. I had a great trip outside and got meet Rich's family. Love them. They are kind and funny and smart and best of all, love to party. I went home to Canada after for a quick trip to see my Gran and reconnect with old friends. My Gran looks good (as always) and seemed to be improving even in the short time I was there. We sang songs and I did her nails and showed her some photos on the computer of the kennel. I know she'll recover quickly.

Meanwhile, Rich came back to AK early and had to shovel all the snow in order to get on with daily dog chores. He also ran the dogs a few times, though breaking trail with snow that deep was very, very difficult for dogs and driver. But now the snowmachiners have been out in force and the trails are in and set up in most places. We went out for a few hours last night and it was great. Clear sky, no wind, the dogs did great...it doesn't get much better. It's still warm here. It hovers around freezing (32 F, 0 C) even at night. Last night on the run we could really feel the temperature swings as we climbed up into the high country and then down onto a river drainage trail. Our first race is coming up in a couple weeks, but I'm actually debating whether or not I'll even go. I'm already signed up and it's only a 120-miler (60 on Sat. and 60 on Sunday) but I just don't know if the dogs will be ready. I could go and use it as a training run, but to be honest, I really don't want another red lantern. Sigh. What to do? Rich suggested I go and do the first 60 and if the dogs aren't into it, we go home, no harm, no foul. I dunno. We'll see.

Anyway, here are some really random photos from our time outside. More to come.

Peas.

A couple great friends from high school. Leslie and Nicky. It was so great to catch up after several years.

Rich saw this magazine at the Minneapolis airport and couldn't believe it. Roy is on the cover!

Me and my Gran

Rich and his papa.

I'm sitting at this table called love

2009-12-02T05:26:00.000-08:00

I'm heading home to Alaska in the morning. Home to over three feet (I'm not exaggerating) of snow. Good, but enough already. The dogs are traveling even shorter miles because they're breaking trail. The snow's even too deep for the snow-go, apparently. Rich has been busy shoveling since he got home on Sunday night.
It's always a little nice to come home, I fall back into the same old moods and routines, but I'm really excited to get back. I've been visiting Gran, who's making progress steadily. I did her nails and we did puzzles. I wish I could just pack her up and take her home with me.
I fly out of Syracuse at 6 a.m. and I've picked up a bug somewhere so my 12-hour marathon on many planes is going to suck. Big time. BUT, I'm going home to my Rich and that's all that matters. Oh, and the dogs, of course. Can't wait.
Photos of random trip stuff coming up.
Peace.

So what we gon have - dessert or disaster?

2009-11-27T05:58:00.000-08:00

We arrived, after a long series of long flights, in Albany yesterday. Thanksgiving. Of course in Canada we call it American Thanksgiving, but here in America they just call it Thanksgiving. We went to Rich's mum's brother's house where a whole heap of relatives and friends had gathered. Rich being home has garnered him celebrity status. But here in upstate New York, he's known as RJ. It's nice here, warm weather, nice peeps and lots of food and drink. My parents and sister and nephew are driving down today from Canada to spend a couple of nights here. Should be interesting. Rich and I brought two cases of wine from the winery, so that should help everyone get a little more comfortable. And by everyone, I mean me. Apparently Roy is doing fine with our friend Patty, though he got a little snippy with her Fletcher at dinner time. Other than that he's been infused into her couch. The other dogs are doing fine, she said. I miss them dearly but am actually enjoying a little time away. It's been a long time since I woke up in the morning and didn't have to think about dog chores. We're staying in a large rental house with a couple fireplaces, a jacuzzi tub and these strange little knobs on the sinks that when you turn, water comes right out of them like magic! This morning we've been watching the news with clips of crazed shoppers mobbing department stores for 'Black Friday.' It's crazy and a little scary. Today we're lounging around waiting for my family and a big list of more friends and family that are expected for dinner and visiting. RJ will be signing autographs on the pathway to the house later this afternoon.
Sunday we all part ways. Rich will head back to AK while I will jump in my dad's new truck and head to Canada for a couple of days before flying out of Syracuse on Thursday to head home and train, train, train the dogs.
OK, enough for now. More soon. Stay tuned, kids. I'll have plenty of stories from this ongoing saga.
Peace.

Ain't no love in the city

2009-11-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Last night, we were getting ready to hook up a team for the second time that day when Kelly came over to chat. 'Jason's gone on a run, but he hopes to be back before the storm,' she said.
Storm. The word made my heart skip a beat. Storm. I marched over to Kelly with sort of a lunatic glaze over my eyes. 'What storm? Storm? Did you say storm??' I was yelling now. Actually, it was more of an excited screech.
Now, if I hear that word before a race, it's more of a have-to-run-to-the-bathroom-every-five-minutes nervous excitement. But if it's during training, when we're been waiting desperately for snow, that word is music. So the storm came and is still here. We've got eight inches of snow so far. Jason's going out to break trail today and we'll have our first run on a sled tonight. We leave tomorrow for Anchorage and then Wednesday we fly out to New York for Thanksgiving with our families. I'll keep you posted on the chaos that will most definitely ensue whilst traveling the day before the holiday.
Peace.

Hello out there, we're on the air

2009-11-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

We're up! Spitfire Kennels is now online. Some of the pages are still under construction as I have to finish writing them, but click away and see what you can find. Thanks again to Don at Timber Bay Bed and Breakfast, for sponsoring us with the website.
Well, our slump is done. I want to thank Karen Ramstead for her advice. What a great dog driver and mentor. I took her advice and gave the dogs a day off and then a really fun day of loose runs and time in the house. Our training run last night was awesome! We flew! Capiche was in lead and didn't want to come home. She knows where home is but lead the team in the opposite direction to keep on going! Amazing. What a difference.
I was thinking of my Gran the whole time on last night's run. She had a stroke and was in the hospital. She's doing much better now and is expected to recover almost completely. But if I know my Gran, the original Spitfire, she'll recover 100 percent and then some! So, when Rich and I head to New York at Thanksgiving I'll take a couple of extra days to head North to Brockville to visit her. I know that most of you don't know her, but please send her happy thoughts. I know if she could, she would want to be up here in Alaska with us flying down the trails on the back of a dog sled! I love you, Gran!! See you soon!
Peace.

I try to walk away and I stumble

2009-11-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

It was cold here. Now it's not. We ran the dogs this morning in rain but now it's snowing. To be perfectly honest, the dogs and I are in a bit of a slump right now. We need to bump up miles but I'm worried about the dogs and their morale. We took a different trail today and the dogs did well and that seemed to perk them up a bit. Le sigh. Finding the perfect balance between keeping the dogs happy and motivated whilst maintaining and increasing their physical conditioning is, like, hard. Very hard. I'm struggling with that a lot these days. Of course, me being a bit down isn't helping the dogs at all as their moods play directly off mine.

On a lighter note, Don Cotogno is helping with our new website (spitfirekennels.com) and it's nearly ready to be launched. Also, Lead Dog Mead is selling like hotcakes at the winery so that sponsorship should be coming in soon. Just in time, too. We're picking up a ton of dry food and several hundred pounds of meat in a couple weeks in Wasilla.

Random photos to follow.

Peace.

Puppies!! Ruby leading the charge with big Cinch and lil' Alive behind.

Our dog-water source.

The yard.

Raven marks in the new snow...since I've been writing this it has rained and is now snowing again.

If dreams were thunder and lightning was desire

2009-11-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Guess what's frozen?? No, not my heart. The trails! The mud bogs and puddles are frozen! Oh, happy day.
That's the most exciting thing I have to report. Oh! I got another sponsor. Lee Smith of Wasilla joined our team and it couldn't have come at a better time! We're making plans for ordering a few hundred pounds of meat and signing up for races this season, so yeah, we are very, very appreciative. Thank you!
We've been busy moving things around and getting dog-yard chores done before everything is buried in snow. It's a nice time of year.
Halloween was uneventful. I didn't dress up, though some woman said I looked 'very festive' and I had to explain to her that I wasn't wearing a costume. Sigh.
Everything else is great, especially- despite what some think - my fashion sense.
Peace.

The warnings were swift and ample

2009-10-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. There's no turning back now. Not in my mind, anyway. With the sales of Lead Dog Mead underway, and more sponsors and supporters jumping on board, my plight for the 2011 Iditarod has become a reality. Even though it's still more than a year away, I wake up at night with thoughts of the Dalzell Gorge, the Happy River Steps, the Farewell Burn, Little McKinley, the Blueberry Hills, Norton Sound, even Cape Nome. Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited to see the trail and the villages and meet the people and simply to run 1,000 miles with my dogs, but, yeah, I'm pretty nervous. I guess I'd be more worried if I wasn't nervous at all. Mostly, I have visions of wiping out on the main drags of downtown Anchorage during the ceremonial start. As a photographer, I know about waiting for that great action/wipe-out shot during a dog race and for those of you who know me, I have a reputation (if only in my own mind) for crashing and dragging at the start of races.
Training is going well though we're still running through water and mud. No snow and no cold, makes Jilly a grumpy girl.
All the dogs are doing well and a couple of the yearlings have shown that they are promising leaders. We're still relying on Capiche, Bully and Drake a lot but hopefully once the younger leaders-in-training get more confident we can start giving the older ones a break. I've also been trying our teenage dogs up front but to no avail. I guess Doyon (aka Sweet D) showed the most promise, though he gets distracted by anything (rocks, puddles, his own feet) when there's not another dog butt in front of him. Oh well, he's secured a spot in the back of the team.
Lead Dog Mead is selling well at the Winery and at stores throughout the state. Also, I acquired a new sponsor yesterday. Terri Segesser, owner of T.J. Seggy's in Soldotna, AK, has donated $250 worth of diesel fuel for when we travel to races this season. Thank you, Terri!
We're still working on details for the winter tour biz, but we've already had some inquiries so I'm very optimistic.
As promised, here are some random photos from the past couple of weeks.
Peace.

Rich and his burnin' loins. Just kidding (Sorry, Lou). Rich made a grate for the top of the wood stove so we can have hot water for the dogs.

A rare cool morning.

Our 'kitchen.'

Bedroom, living room, dining room, TV room...etc, etc, etc.

Rich steppin' out. This is our new cabin. She's tiny but mighty and soon to be a little less tiny. Jason and Kelly (our landlords/friends/fellow mushers) are building a bedroom on the back of this little beast. Just that little extra bit room will be a big improvement.

We still marvel at the beauty outside our front door.

It's a black fly in your Chardonnay

2009-10-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have a new issue. One I've never had to deal with or have even thought about before. I have moths. Moths that are eating my clothes. I mean, seriously, does that really still happen? I guess so. You'd think it'd be a good excuse to buy some new clothes, but broke mushers don't get a chance to go on shopping sprees very often, unless it involves the brand names 'Taiga' or 'Redpaw.'
I'll have to go to Ulmer's and get some sort of pesticide, I suppose. Now I'll smell like dog shit and moth balls, oh joy!
Training is going well, though we've been having some minor leader break-downs during the past few runs. The dogs and I are learning from every run but I still have so many questions and my instinct is to call one my mushing mentors for help, but I know there is no one answer. It makes me realize how much I still have to learn and how it's easy to run dogs, but hard to train them.
We're plugging away and the dogs' hearts are all in the right places, so that's a big bonus. It has finally cooled down enough here and we've even dipped below freezing on a few occasions. With frozen bogs and sink holes, everyone's morale is up. We had a head-on pass yesterday morning with a local sprint musher and the dogs passed beautifully despite very, very tight trail conditions. It was a nice ending to a frustrating run where every leader we put up front was in opposite world (gee meant haw, etc.). Sigh. And let it go. It's gone. Tomorrow's a new day!
OK, photos of everything, including the moth-snack clothes are coming soon, I swear!
Peace.

Mud treatments for free at Spitfire Kennels!

2009-10-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

What is up with the weather here? I mean, really? What the hell is going on? It's 55 degrees outside!! We were told that where we are living now has enough snow by this time of year to be doing 35-mile runs ON A SLED! Yeah, right. We're in a mud hold on the four-wheeler careening down slip-n-slide trails while the dogs are up to their tits in mud. It's nuts. So, why am I complaining about things I have no control over? Well, it's kind of my thing, in case you haven't noticed.
Anyway, we're making do by splitting the dog runs into two: one in the morning before work and one in the morning after work. That way, they're still getting the miles on them, just not all at once because it's so hot out.
The dogs are doing really well and our young superstars: Mr. Lahey, Maude, Wayne and Bubbles are awesome! Lahey and Maude have been running in lead a lot and are starting to take commands. It's so rewarding to see these young dogs coming into their own. Drake, Capiche and Hazel have been our go-to leaders with Omar starting to shine in the front position. Bully runs in lead on the days he feels like it, but I don't want to over do it as he's older and sensitive. The rest of the crew get moved around in the team and they have all really taken to charging right through open water...there's a lot of it around here. It's all very exciting and I can't wait for snow.
Our new cabin is growing on me, actually, more than that, I'm really starting to love it. The dogs have lots of space in the yard and the pups (Cinch, Alice and Ruby, in case you'd forgotten) get to run loose every morning. Alice is our current escape artist. She gets out of the puppy pen often, but then just runs laps around it until we open the gate and she jumps back in.
I just applied for a business license for Spitfire Kennels and am currently working on getting some winter tours set up. We're getting brochures made, joining the Chamber of Commerce and the Bed and Breakfast Association to get our name out in the community. We'll also be working closely with Don Cotogno, owner of Timber Bay Bed and Breakfast, to work out a partnership for the winter. Of course, this is all in the planning stages but already we have a lot of support. And if all goes well this winter, well, who knows?? Don will also be doing our website (spitfirekennels.com) so stay tuned for the launch of that. It's been my dream for a while now to not only live and race with sled dogs, but earn my living with them, too. Rich and I are really motivated to make this work and I hope that some of you will visit us sometime and meet the dogs before hopping on a sled and taking off into the hills outside Homer.
Photos soon, I promise.
Also, Lead Dog Mead is now for sale at the winery and it's been selling really well. It's a Fireweed honey wine and part of the proceeds will go to Spitfire Kennels. Bill and Dorothy at Bear Creek Winery have been so generous and flexible. We're excited to have them on board!
Also, I'm just finishing up a review of Ken Anderson's 2009 Iditarod journal for the next issue of Mushing Magazine, so check it out.
Peace

This is life, so we'll survive

2009-10-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

I know I've used that title before, but it's something I've had to repeat to myself many times over the past week or so.
We're in (as much as we can fit) to our new cabin. It's nice. It will only get better.
I've had two serious meltdowns in the last few days. The first one I had to assure Rich that this was me at my worst. Poor guy. He's been the rock during this whole move and usually he's the stressed out one. Anyway, the dogs are great and we're loving being able to train from the yard. I think I'm going to steal Libby's mantra of 'trucking the dogs for four-wheeler training is against my religion.' Yep, no more truckin' except for races of course and maybe a camping trip or two.
Our new cabin is down in a hole with no cell service and I have to come into town for internet right now, so my access to the outside world is limited for the time being.
The Lead Dog Mead is being released this weekend and we've already sent three cases to stores in Fairbanks! Who knew Mr. Lahey would be such a huge star?
OK, photos of our new cabin and then our new cabin being moved by an excavator (it's portable!) and some pics of the pups coming up in a bit. Stay tuned.
Peace.

Maybe I'm a poor girl, but it doesn't bother me at all

2009-10-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

There's a mouse in our cabin. I know what has to be done, but I'm hesitating. I named him Grundel. I tried to get Roy to eat him, but he's more interested in the couch.
We move in two days so I have until then to get the mouse out.
Training is going well, we bumped up miles the other day and are running on new trails in the dark...the dogs LOVE it! It's getting colder here and it did snow, but nothing stuck. Work is slowing down and we're debating whether or not one of us should get another job. I hope not, but we do what we need to, to do what we want to.
We bottled a new wine at work. It's a mead, actually, which means it's a honey wine. It's called Lead Dog Mead and I made a label with Mr. Lahey (our newest lead dog) on it. A few bucks from every bottle sold will go to Rich and I and our Iditarod plight. It's a cool way to sponsor us and I can't wait for the release. I'll be there with Mr. Lahey. Gold Hill in Fairbanks is excited to release it too and it'll be sold around Alaska.
Here's the label:

We need to tweak the label a little but you get the gist. Exciting times around here.

More photos to come soon.

Peace

I used to be an angel, now I'm just like everybody else

2009-09-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Fall training is going really well and we've got a lot of potential in the team this year. It's funny because Rich and I have such different styles of training dogs and we've done nearly every run together so far. Some days we're on the same page and some days I want to push him off the 4-wheeler and then run him over. Same with him, I'm sure. But the dogs are getting good miles on them, they're happy and we're running a lot of different dogs in different positions in the team. One thing we can agree is the loose dogs along our trail need some discipline. At first the gang of pet dogs (a big fluffy, black thing; a brown fat mutt and a pitbull mix) would run around the team as we passed by but as of late they're getting more brave and one of them tried to take a chunk out of Bully on the run last night. I swear to all that is holy, you touch my Bully, you get a whippin'. On the way back, I was armed with a stick but the loose dogs sensed something was different and kept their distance. We don't exactly want to start a hillbilly war by trying to approach the dogs' owners but instead really like the idea of catching one of them and spray-painting a bull's eye on the side of it. What? I wouldn't actually do it, but the owners need to know their dogs are wreaking havoc out on the road. But like some of my pro-musher friends have told me, these loose dogs will help us make leaders that will go on-by anything in their way. Bright side, bright side, bright side.
We're training every day, rotating our 18 race-eligible dogs (just the three pups and Capt' Roy are not running) so that they run two days in a row and then have a day off. It's working out really well and I'm excited with the progress thus far.
On a different note we're heading to Boston and New York for Thanksgiving!! (American Thanksgiving in November not Canadian Thanksgiving in October...I'll be spending that one crying quietly in the corner of our cabin...) Yahoo!! A holiday!! I can't wait to meet more of Richard's family and put some more pieces of the Savoyski/Taft puzzle into place. (Side note: his family calls him RJ for Richard John.)
OK, dogs are waiting for breakfast.
Peace.

Mr. Lahey, right, lickin' her chops before a run. Capiche, left, has been an excellent teacher for the young leaders-in-training.

Bubbles, Lahey's sister, screaming to get going.

Rich hooking up the last dogs in our 12-dog string.

Heading home. This is the four-way where the loose dogs hang out. All clear on this run...

A couple who trains dogs together, stays together....wink....(or kills each other in the process, but we're both still alive and kickin')

Nothing much but love to give you

2009-09-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back down to one job, am full-swing into fall training and getting ready to move at the end of this month. Currently, it's 7:30 in the morning and I'm watching Rich give Roy chips for cheap tricks. Roy can 'sit,' 'shake,' 'run away looking like he just saw a ghost,' and 'lay down.' Good Roy Boy. The real dogs are doing really well in harness. The first couple of runs were on a brand new trail with plenty of distractions (loose dogs) and tribulations (no leaders), so needless to say it was kind of frustrating for musher and dogs alike. But we've been running some young dogs up front and have been pleasantly surprised at all the potential. We started at 4 miles and will stay there for about another week before bumping up to six and then hopefully 10 by the first week of October. But we'll see how it goes. We've got 18 running dogs and have divided them up into three, six-dog teams. We run 12 dogs at a time alternating the six-dog teams so that every dog runs two days in a row and then has one day off. I love fall training (until, of course, it's November and we're still on a four-wheeler doing 40-mile runs at 40-below) because the dogs are new and fresh, and we watch them improve with every run. I keep forgetting my camera but photos are coming soon.
Soon Rich and I will be moving down the road to a cabin on property owned by friends and fellow mushers Jason and Kelly. The cabin is very small but extremely adorable and we'll be going back to no water or power. That means wood heat, hauling water and a generator. This time though, we have a battery bank and a propane fridge and stove. I'm really excited for winter for a few reasons: it will be significantly warmer here in Homer than in Fairbanks, we have hundreds of miles of tough trails directly from our dog yard and a supply of fresh fish heads all winter. Bring it on!
Rich will continue to work at the winery as will I, but he's also taking classes at the college and will help me train the team for races. I'm hoping he'll race a little this year too because he's quite good at it. But if not, I'm really excited just to camp out with the teams and get to know the area.
I guess that's it for now.
Peace.

I got this far with no direction

2009-09-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

Richard's parents rolled into town a few days ago and we've been trying to make this their best Alaska trip yet, even though I've been working 10-hour days. I did manage to have a day off and we took a water taxi over to Seldovia for the afternoon. If I were wealthy, I would live there. Rich has been showing Bob and LouAnn the trails and sights around our house and, of course, LouAnn has been cooking up a storm. We have enough halibut chowder, banana bread, pasta sauce and chicken stew to last the winter. Thanks Lou! While LouAnn is dicing, chopping and mixing in our modest kitchen, Bob and Rich have been fixing things around the dog yard and tinkering with the truck. Quality time. Today I'm at work down on the Spit at the Emerald Air office. After Labour Day, the tourists make a beeline for the airports, so town is pretty dead. We're still offering bear viewing trips until the 17th however, so here I sit. All the other stores and shops on this boardwalk closed yesterday for the season, so no bakery runs for coffee and goodies. When it's slow, there's not much to do, so I've been working on some freelance stuff and watching Will and Grace bloopers on YouTube. Not much else to report except that it's really cooling off here and I'm excited for scarves, mitts and toques!
Here are a few photos from the trip across Katchemak Bay to Seldovia.
Peace.

The Savoyski invasion...but where's Julie?? (Yes, Rich's head is really that big.)

Fly down? Showlace untied? Oh no, my friends...it was BEAR POO!!! Since I'm pretty much an expert bear whisperer now, I reassured the group...plus I'm almost positive I could outrun LouAnn...you never know though...I realized this morning she's a lot like my mother; tiny with freakish upper body strength. And she did set a blazing pace on this trail (called the Otterbaun) just outside Seldovia. The trail winds through the rainforest and pops out at Outside Beach. It was really beautiful. Bob tried to get that perfect shot by climbing on jagged beach rocks, slipped and cut his hand open. These Savoyski men, I tell ya, always hurting themselves.

We chased this eagle down the Spit Road for a mile or two.

Dog outside the bar in Seldovia. If you're wondering: yes, there are loose dogs everywhere in the tiny village and yes, I found the bar straight away. Oh, and yes, ice is $200 a bag! What a rip!

Drive to work this morning.

Love the wine you're with

2009-09-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the delay, but things have been busy 'round here. And sadly, I haven't even started training yet! Tomorrow. First run of the season happens tomorrow! Anyway, I've picked up a second job temporarily and am working seven days a week 10-hour days. Plus dog chores. Poor me. I'm actually staying amazingly upbeat and alert. Even though Rich insists I'm grumpy, I'm really not. (You ain't seen grumpy yet, honey!)
So work at both the winery and Emerald Air are going really well, though the season is winding down.
As the cooler weather settles in, the dogs are getting amped. I can't wait to get them back in harness. Rich went down the road a couple nights ago to scope out a new trail and unlike any years past, we will not be running through swamps! It's a dry trail with a few big puddles for the dogs to drink out of and lots and lots of hills. Ha, ha! The dogs and I will be ready for those endless climbs on the GinGin 200 this year! We'll start with all 18 of our adults (ranging in age from 1.5 years to 10 years old) in two teams of nine and the whittle it down as winter arrives. I'm pretty sure Bully is ready for retirement and that Sister and Hitchcock won't be interested in those long runs (they'll be doing tours and puppy training) BUT we're going to give every dog a fresh start and go from there. You never know, Bully might have one more year of running in him or Sister and Hitchcock might be interested in, oh I don't know, pulling (!) this year. Who knows. I sure am excited to see what happens. The dogs are always full of surprises and seem to pull through when I really need them. We have four yearlings on the team this year: Maude, Mr. Lahey, Bubbles and Wayne. They're all siblings, very small and full of gumption. Rich and I harness-broke them all this spring and though it was a little nuts at times, they all did really well. The rest of the team I had last year, so I'm hoping they will be even more cohesive this season. My race plan changes every day, but right now I'm thinking about the GinGin, the Copper Basin 300, the Tustemena 200 and the Taiga 300 with some shorter races thrown in like the Aurora 50-50, the Goosebay 120 (Rich will run that) and the T-100 (Rich will run that, too.) We'll see how the dogs and the money hold up, though.
We're taking a new approach to fall training this year. Dog whisperer John Schandelmeier talked last season about training to learn and not just to stack up the miles. So, while we have the stability and braking power of the four-wheeler, we're going to train the dogs, not just run the dogs. That means putting my most non-leader dogs up front and moving the dogs around a lot. This is the time to do it. Last year I relied on Capiche and Bully in lead through all of fall training and then as my first race approached, Bully decided he didn't want to lead anymore and Capiche got a tweaked shoulder. That was not the time to find new leaders, I should have been running everyone up front throughout the season. Anyway, I ended up borrowing leaders from Greg Parvin but this year, I want backup leaders and backups to my backups. Anyway, Rich and I will both be on at the winery through the winter but are also going to try and get our own winter tour business going. We both have experience (I guided four-day wilderness tours via dogsled in Finland and Rich worked giving day trips in Montana a few winters ago. Plus we both did summer tours in Skagway.) and love introducing people to the dogs and the sport. Plus, with Rich's Iditarod stories and my Iditarod plight, I think people will engaged and excited. We'll see how it goes. So here's a little brochure I've been working on. It's not a final, just a draft. Tell me what you think. (I realize that saying 'competitive mushers' is a big stretch, but we do race...) The dog on the front is Mr. Lahey.
Peace.

Take a bear to lunch today

2009-08-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

I went bear viewing Monday as part of training for a temporary, part-time gig I got with Emerald Air. I'll be helping them out for a couple weeks in September and thought it would be a good idea to go on a trip and see what they do first hand. The owners, Chris and Ken Day were great. They've been guiding bear-viewing trips in Katmai National Park and in the Preserve for two decades and have a wealth of knowledge about the area and bears. They're meticulous about every aspect of the trip to assure the safety of their clients and the bears. I had a good time and we saw many bears. Here are some photos from the trip.
Peace

The flight in was on a 1960 de Havilland Otter. Flying time was about an hour and a half. We even had to fly over the rainbow to get to the bears.

Augustine Island, where Augustine is still steaming from its last eruption in 2006.

Follow the tracks.

Mama and babes.

Babes following their mum.

Hey! Who are you? Spring cubs are curious but one snorty grunt from mama sent them running back to her.

Chasing fish in the river.

Here fishy fishy!

Got one!!

Yum.

I use that sloppy English all the time

2009-08-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Even though fall is definitely in the air, and I'm obviously excited to run dogs again, I'm also a little anxious. Anxious about the team, learning new trails, earning money to finance all the races I want to do...I guess it's par for the course, so to speak. A woman came into the winery yesterday and we got chatting about dog mushing. She paused for a while and then looked at me with a serious expression. 'Can I ask you something?'
'Sure,' I said.
'What do you like about dog mushing?' she asked, adding 'I mean, why do you do it?'
I thought about it for a sec because there are a lot of reasons why. I love the dogs. I love being out on the trail. I love the hard work.
Then I answered her.
'I do it because it's hard. There's always something, some obstacle to overcome, some problem to figure out all the while making sure the dogs are performing at their best and staying happy and healthy. And at the end of day, after a long training run or a tough race with cold and wind and open water and tough trail, we're all OK.'
I don't know if that was the answer she was looking for but she accepted it.
Rich's parents are coming up in September and I'm looking forward to exploring more of this area with them. Work is good, but slowing down a little. The dogs are restless and so are we. Here are some photos from the past week or so.
Peace.

Christina and I at work.

Bill, the owner, sampling some strawberry-rhubarb wine.

My dad's maple syrup on the shelf. We sell it at the winery now!

Rich at work building a new garden shed.

Bully on our trip to Kenai the other day.

Fox report: Poor is the new Rich

2009-07-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, on rare occasions, I wish I was more girly. Like a girly girl. There are a few reasons for this and I realize how bad this is going to sound, but I mean no offense. Sometimes I don't want to haul/chop wood. Sometimes I don't want to lug buckets of meat and poop around. Sometimes I want to wear makeup and skirts and be clean. Not often, but sometimes. I don't really know very many girly girls anymore, I guess because I can't really relate. I had a day off from the winery yesterday and maybe it's just because I was feeling lazy but I just wanted to stay inside (it was raining) and bake. But, things have to be done around here when we're not at the winery and so I drag my big arse outside and work. Not very hard, mind you, but I work. I'm obviously really glad that Rich isn't in to girly girls and I think he likes me because I'm tough, or at least I act tough. But yesterday, as I washed dirt off my face under the outdoor facet and then hocked a farmer blow off the deck (for those who don't know, a farmer blow is when you plug one nostril and blow snot out of the other one instead of just blowing your nose like a normal person) I wished I was more girly and less, shall we say, disgusting. The cherry on this sundae of grime and dirt was when I glanced at myself in the mirror in natural day light. First off, natural light is my only enemy. Secondly, I realized I had let my monthly pluck/wax ritual lapse and was looking disturbingly like Burt Reynolds. One positive thing about having less-than-desirable hygiene habits is that I get a lot of comments on my skin. Random people often ask me when I do to keep my skin looking young and fresh. (I happen to think my pours are big enough to serve dip out of, but I digress) Genetics play a part of course, but also I think my skin looks young because I don't wash my face every day. I'm not sure where any of this is going but it's been on my mind, so I thought I'd share. Of course, this is all a choice. I choose to live like this. And don't think it's a mushing thing because I know of plenty of female dog mushers who are girly...in looks only of course, but girly nonetheless. My hands are always dirty, when I'm not at the winery, and so are my clothes. I guess that's what I love about Alaska: nobody cares.
Peace.

And now, I've channeled my inner girly girl and am presenting some pretty pictures taken around our cabin last week.

Pretty flowers.

Pretty rainbow.

Pretty view.

The 2009 Canine Caper award results are in!

2009-07-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Please, save your applause until the end. Winners, please keep your speeches short.

Ahem.

The Overall Digger award goes to...wait for it...Capiche!
Capiche managed to dig a large trench (three feet deep and seven feet across) around her house in the dog yard. She enjoyed sitting in said trench and burying her food dish in the huge resulting pile of dirt. We have since filled in the trench and moved Capiche down to our cabin. She hasn't started digging down here yet.

The Non-Sled-Dog Digger award goes to Roy.
Unlike Capiche, Roy enjoys digging long narrow trenches just wide enough for him to lay in. He does so in the short time he's outside. Most of his time is spent on his custom dog bed (old comforters) beside our bed.

The How'd-He-Do-That Escape award goes to Omar.
Omar has managed to get loose a few times with his collar still on and hooked onto a Swedish snap (not the cheaper bronze snaps that the dogs can learn to undo) He's not breaking the chains or the snaps. How'd he do that? Who knows. He runs right down the cabin, though, so I'm not too stressed about it.

The Monkey-See-Monkey-Dig award goes to Alice.
She's just three months but she sees her mummy Summy dig and tip her bowl and does the same. We've reduced Summer's visits to short loose runs with her pups so they learn to come when they're called (Summer is really good at that) and none of the bad behaviour.

The Alligator Appetite award goes to Sipsi.
Of course, this little girl is still eating like a champ. She can't wait for the ladle to hit her bowl before she starts chomping which usually results in spilled food which she quickly hoovers up anyway. Not a bad habit, especially out on the trail.

The Love-Me More award goes to Hitchcock.
This blue-eyed dove is always wooo-woooing for more love. I can spend hours with her and her alone and she still wants more, more, more. Recently, I've been letting her and Roy loose together and they entertain each other.

The Convert award goes to Sister.
Sister is now a house dog. She was spayed last week and hasn't left the couch other that to pee and poop. I tried to put her back in the dog yard, but she wasn't having it. She didn't make the race team last season because she wasn't interested in pulling at all, so, well, house dog number 3 has joined Bully and Roy on the couch.

The Old Stand-By award goes to Bully.
He's my boy and always will be.

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for the Fall Training Superstar Awards in a couple months.
It has finally rained here and it smells like fall. Yipppeeee!!! Winter is around the corner and I can't wait.
Peace.

I could have made it easier on myself

2009-07-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, but the summer is flying by and I'm busy trying to snag a piece for myself. It's still hot and dry here which has become pretty annoying. The dust is everywhere!! When I let the dogs loose, they look that guy Pigpen from Peanuts. Seriously. A cloud of dust surrounds them.
I don't have much to report on except that Libby gave me the new Iditarod video for my birthday and Rich and I are super amped for winter after watching it.
Bill at the winery has been using my pa's maple syrup in his halibut brine and since they give the recipe away to guests, they are now going to start selling the syrup in the gift shop. Yea, Dad!
We still haven't recovered Libby's lost dog, Ace. But I feel like he's still out there. There have been some crazy stories of mushers around here losing dogs and getting them back months later...so we're still optimistic.
Here are some photos and videos from the past couple of weeks.
Peace.

Above, Rich with Cinch when little Cinch was just a week old. Below, Rich and Cinch three months later...he's a monster...and Cinch is pretty big too!

Mr. Lahey in the grass.

Our new puppy pen. Rich built this in a day! The pups outgrew the other one.

This is life, so we'll survive

2009-07-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th, y'all! And Happy Canada Day a few days ago. And Happy Palin Resigns Yesterday! Things have been rolling along here on the hill but my thoughts turn to winter almost every minute now. This is going to be a big season for Spitfire Kennels in preparation for my 2011 Iditarod plight. I want to do at least three big races this season. The hardest I can to find out if I'm actually as tough as I think I am and to prove to Richard that I am at least a little tough. We're getting a schedule in place for training and racing and also looking ahead to our big move over to Katchemak Kennels. Rich and I are both working today and it should be really busy. Yesterday we had a record day at the winery....sold 287 bottles...the most ever! It was nuts and a little stressful, but generally people are in a good mood when they come in...and the more they drink the better looking I get, so it's a win-win.
Now for some sad news. A few days ago one of Libby's old dogs got an unexpected burst of energy and broke out of his pen. We haven't found him yet, but I'm not giving up hope. We've been going on long walks searching the thickets, meadows and hay fields but can't see any trace. The wildflowers are so gorgeous here, and it's too bad we discovered all these lovely spots under such sombre circumstances but again, not giving up. Friends and neighbors have been helping a lot so if he's out there, we'll find him.
Peace

Don't stop 'til you get enough

2009-06-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'm ambivalent about the recent celebrity deaths. I will most likely remember where I was when heard the news that MJ died: at work, eating salad for lunch. Fern, the winery's gardener, (no shit, the gardener's name is Fern) came over and said 'I just got text from my daughter; Michael Jackson is dead!'
My reaction? 'Huh. Is there anymore salad inside?'
MJ kind of trumps my news I suppose but I'll tell you anyway.
We'll be leaving our post at Libby's at the beginning of October and moving about a mile down the road. We're renting a cabin (back to no water, no electricity...boo!) and some land from Jason and Kelly Cameron who own Katchemak Kennels. We'll be joining their fledgling winter tour operation. They give week-long dog sled tours into the Caribou Hills. Also, we'll be mixing up some of our dogs so that I will have a potentially stronger race team and they will have more tour dogs to choose from. If it all works out after one season, Richard and I will have a rent-to-own option on the land. If it doesn't work out, Rich and I will move on and cut our losses. Don't get me wrong, Libby's place is amazing and we are still close enough to help her out, but really, she needs someone who is focused on her. And Rich and I have our own agenda with our own dogs, racing and work. We're in the process now of drafting up a contract with Jason and Kelly so we are all clear on the goals and expectations of this Spitfire/Katchemak fusion. Rich and I will still maintain Spitfire Kennels and our sponsors and other finances will remain separate, so if you're sponsoring me, you are indeed sponsoring me. I'm excited for the winter and now that we're losing daylight again, the cold, snowy weather is just around the corner. Of course, the weather here is very different from Fairbanks. It's much warmer in the winter (no more 40 below!) and they get much, much more snow here. I hope it all works out, but Rich and I are keeping our options open just in case and we'll end up wherever that clever north wind blows us.
Peace

Being grown isn't half as fun as growing up

2009-06-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to wonder which is growing faster: the fireweed or the puppies. See for yourself.
Peace

We march to the beat of an indifferent drum

2009-06-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wonder when I will grow out of my clumsiness. I will be 32 in less than a month and I still trip and fall and spill like I was a toddler. I made up some batches of Barolo wine the other day at work and I was moving the five-gallon glass carboys onto the shelf so they could have a nice quiet place to ferment when the worst happened. I heard the dreaded 'clink' of glass on glass and within seconds I was up to my ankles in thick, red wine. It seeped out onto the winery floor, into the cellar...everywhere...
I screamed 'HOLY SHIT!!' and everyone came running back to see the red mess all over the place. It took several hours to clean it all up. Dorothy and Bill weren't mad because it was an accident, but the rest of the day's chores got put on hold while the clean-up ensued. Oy.
The dogs are good and the pups are huge. We're planning some fun adventures for the summer, but are looking for someone to dogsit. Work is getting busy and I've been meeting some really cool people, but other than that nothing else is new.
Photos to come.
Peace

Homer: a quaint drinking town with a fishing problem

2009-06-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Exciting things are happening for Spitfire Kennels and we can't wait for winter! Details aren't finalized yet, so I'll hold off on the specifics, but stay tuned!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the puppies are wrestling like crazy and it's hot, hot, hot here on the hill. Rich and I have started playing tennis after work, but other than that not much is new. We're working hard on keeping the dogs happy during these lazy (for them, not us) summer days, but they're still a little bored. Capiche, our resident bowl-tipper, collar-slipper, fence-climber, hole-digger, house-tipper has dug herself a three-foot-deep trench around her house. We've been letting her loose and she comes in the house overnight, but she's smart (sometimes scarily so) and is bored when she's in the dogyard. Hopefully we'll rectify that situation soon, but again, no details yet.
Here are some photos and video of the last few days. Rich and I walked around the small boat harbour yesterday on our day off. I love watching the hustle and bustle of the port.
Peace.

Yee haw!

The yellow lab was really, really hoping for a scrap or two.

Oh la la.

Minnows!

Yes I am.

Could it be? The Time Bandit? Eeeeekkkkk! I felt like a stalker and I haven't even seen the show!

mmm, not really...anymore...

Old boat in the harbour.

Puppies!

Start with straight shots and then pop bottles

2009-06-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

It's been warm here the last couple of days. Today is down-right hot. Yesterday Rich and I rototilled the dog yard. I used to think that scooping poop in the rain with a hangover was the worst job ever, but a new task has taken that title. Rich did most of the grunt work as the huge beast of a machine would send me flailing when I tried to use it, so I followed along, raking in holes, helping him lift when the machine got stuck, and moving dogs and houses out of his way. The dog yard looked great when all was said and done; level and soft. That lasted about an hour. It still looks better than it did, but the dogs have dug their bear traps once again and padded down their spots. I'm off again today and have been planting flowers and vegetables in my deck garden, cleaning out water cans and refilling them and waiting for a couple of visitors who are here in Homer and really wanted to see real sled dogs and puppies. I like showing off my dogs. And my life. I'm proud of what I have and what I do, even though it usually results in me smelling like dog poo. Here are some random shots of the view from our cabin and a video of the pups.
Peace

Roy woke me up the other morning around 4 to go pee and Rich and I witnessed a really great sunrise.

Roy in a ditch. For some reason he likes this spot and if he's not near it, he'll dig his own little trench to sleep in.

Get me a chicken sandwich and some waffle fries...for free!

2009-05-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

We had a rude awakening this morning just before two when ol' Bully decided to Norwalk all over the only tiny piece of carpet in our cabin. Rich and I awoke to the distinct sound of watery poo being sprayed every which way. Being the considerate canine he is, he must not have wanted to disturb us by whining to go outside and unload, so he just went where he was. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been on my hands and knees in the middle of the night....wait for it...scrubbing the floor after a poo-pee-vomit incident. Part and parcel to owning a heard of dogs, I suppose. Roy's been acting weird lately. Not sick or anything, just more anxious than usual. Maude and Mr. Lahey are getting sick of being in the playpen together and have starting scuffling over food, toys, bones, a piece of grass...anything, really. Time to separate the sisters. Other than these minor episodes, the dogs are good, getting loose often to frolic in the neighbour's hay field. Libby has a cool little two-wheeled cart for training dogs. I can't wait to take it for a spin. It looks like a death trap, kind of, but it'll sure be nice to get the dogs in harness, albeit just two at a time. Oh well, better than nothing. Anyway, the pups are growing and getting very brave. They're at a really fun age right now and I wish they were stay like this forever. Work is great and getting really busy. OK, enough blathering. Photos and video to come.
Peace.

Splashing the wine with all the rain dogs

2009-05-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have found a new love. The blueberry wine from Bear Creek Winery. Oh. My. God. So good. 'Nuff said.
The winery is getting really busy now and it's been so much fun working there and getting know the many locals that come in. Rich and I love Homer and are here indefinitely. I have some really fun news about a potential sponsor, but have to wait until it's confirmed. We had a day off yesterday and wandered around the Spit, had lunch and then came home to play with puppies. Ruby, Cinch and Alice are almost eight weeks now and are huge! They are so much fun and so friendly. Summer's getting a little sick of their shenanigans so we'll probably take her out of the pen soon. Not much else new, just busy with work and dogs. Libby's coming home in June and we're hoping to take a tour across the bay to Seldovia. I heard from some tourists the other day that the tide-pooling over there is far superior...they poked an octopus out of its hole! I want to do that! Either that or go on a bear-viewing/flight-seeing trip across Katchemak Bay. Or maybe razor clamming in Ninilchik. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.
Peace.
Here are Ruby (left), Cinch and Alice a couple days ago.

Feeble I was then, but now I'm grown

2009-05-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Lots of crazy stuff happening 'round here lately. First off, the fire. A week ago today, a downed power line started a fire down East End Road, just a few miles from us. The fire spread quickly through the dry grass and pines and within one day it was over 200 acres. We were on edge at the thought of evacuating our 18 dogs plus Libby's 40. But I had a pressing engagement up in Fairbanks on Thursday, so I took off as we thought the fire was under control. Six hours into my 12 hour drive north, Rich called saying the wind had shifted and picked up and the fire was out of control again. It spread to about 1,000 acres. We both got on the phone, he in Homer and me somewhere near Wasilla on the Parks Highway, and figured out trucks and help should he need to get the dogs out in a hurry. I continued on, got some loose ends tied up in Fairbanks and headed back to Homer on Friday, arriving in the evening to rain and cool temperatures. The fire was partially contained again, and the weather was cooperating. Yesterday they announced the fire was 100 percent contained. And so, life goes on.
On my way back to Homer, I stopped at our old place in Big Lake to visit with Greg and Chris and pick up a couple dogs. Maude and Mr. Lahey are sisters and two of four dogs that Greg is letting us keep and train and race and love. Thanks, Greg! We'll pick up Bubbles and Wayne on our next trip North.
Also while I was in Fairbanks, Rich got bored and picked up my big camera. I only had to explain a couple of things over the phone and he got to shooting. Turns out, he's got a good eye. So, here are some really great photos of the dogs that Rich took while I was away, followed by a couple shots from that first fire night and a bumper sticker I saw in my travels north that made laugh out loud.
Peace.

This is one of Libby's yearlings. His name is Shaman and his eyes are speckled brown and blue. It's kind of creepy until you meet him. He's a big sweetheart!

This is Shaman with his sisters Feather and Diggity.

Our newest dog Maude.

Diggity.

Our boy Cinch.

Bully. I think Rich really captured his demeanor here. Calm, cool, wise and sometimes pouty...even though he's on the couch!!

I kind of liked this one. It's the fire as we drove by in the truck. Eerie

Smoky haze.

Amen.

I spent a year in the mouth of a whale

2009-05-12T12:58:00.001-07:00

Summer (the season, not the dog) has arrived!
Puppies are growing and growling, grass is greening, muck is drying, cranes are flying overhead, dogs are a little bored but soaking in the sun and well-deserved down-time, and the tourists are arriving in droves every day. Love it. Love Homer, love work...love everything!
Libby has gone to her summer home in Juneau so now Rich and I are here with her 40 dogs and our 20. We get up early to make (strong) coffee, play a quick hand or two of cards them get busy with dog chores: feeding, watering, scooping (always with the poop!), fixing broken things, running dogs loose, playing with pups, cooking up fish stew, etc. I also feed Libby's fish and water her plants. Then we clean up and head to work at Bear Creek Winery (more on that in a minute) where we work between seven and eight hours, then home for another round of feeding, watering, scooping and dog canoodling before we head into our cabin to cook dinner and collapse into bed. Sometimes we watch an episode of The Wire, which we're loving at the moment, but usually I end up falling asleep partway through. I love being busy and exhausted from hard work.
Rich and I both landed a job at the local Winery, which has been the most amazing gig I've had in a while. Besides getting to sample all their berry-licious creations, I do wine tasting for guests, give tours of the winery and help make wine. It's so totally different then anything I've done in the past and the people, especially owners Bill and Dorothy, are amazing. The hours are good, the pay is good, the perks are better and I'm learning about something I had no clue about before. Visit them at bearcreekwinery.com. They are open all year round and have a B&B too, with discounts for Alaskans. Rich builds things and does handy work around the winery and the compound and is loving being able to work outside and learn new skills (plumbing, carpentry, electrical, etc.) Once the outside stuff is done, he'll be Bill's apprentice wine-maker. Even though he said he doesn't like wine, I've been easing him into it, starting with the sweet stuff (strawberry rhubarb wine, blueberry wine and raspberry mead). He sure likes it now! It's hard not to, really.
Alice, Ruby and Cinch are growing like weeds. Here's a short video of them from today.
I'm heading North for a few days and will post photos of the winery upon my return home.
Peace.

My own mama say I'm thugged out

2009-04-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Rich and I are mildly addicted to tide-pooling at the beach. We are getting familiar with the tide schedules and I'm looking forward to a -5 tide on May 5. We have yet to find anything really cool like an octopus or a shark or something, but we have found some neat little sea creatures and shells. We like to bring a few dogs down with us and let them run around and explore, though each time we go down, there are more RVs and tourists. Today we took Capiche and Roy, neither of whom were very much help looking for creepy-crawlies. Roy didn't like the water much and Capiche just peed and pooped in the tide pools. Anyway, Rich and I start work this week so our leisurely days of beach dwelling are numbered. Here are some photos of the beach and dog yard from the past few days, and a short video of the pups who turn four weeks tomorrow! They're wrestling like crazy and already eating soaked kibble. Soon they'll be asking for money and the car keys...oy vey...
Peace

Making fish-head stew with our cod!

Libby's yard with Meadow up front.

Me and my boy Doyon (who I now call Sweet Dee) at, you guessed it, the beach!

I rarely like tilted horizon pics, but I think this works...

Rich walking Roy and Capiche supervising the tide-pool expedition.

Super low tide today.

Low tide equals coolio patterns.

The old(ish) woman and the sea (kind of)

2009-04-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

A spring storm blew in yesterday morning (high winds and sideways snow) and last night my man and I were set to hunker down with some luxurious morsels (meatballs, tater tots and Vitamin water) and watch a stimulating cinematic adventure (Snakes on a Plane).
But we got the call.
The captain (Libby) announced that the motherlode had arrived on the docks down on the Homer Spit. FREE FISH!
And not just any fish, my friends. It was black cod. The best, apparently, and highly coveted. I should clarify when I say fish, I mean heads and backbones. The fishing boats come in and get the fish filleted and then the rest usually gets ground up and sent to sea for the shore birds straight away. But tonight we had the pick of tons of leftovers which, when cooked up, makes a delicious, high fat meal and/or snacks for the dogs. At first, we hesitated as the wind whistled through our jackets, but after a short discussion we decided to head to sea for fish. It would be a fun adventure, a great opportunity to get the dogs some high-fat food, plus we hadn't done much that day because of the storm so we both felt like slugs. We armed ourselves with rubber gloves, boxes and bags, and a sturdy gaff (random stick we found in the truck) and headed out into the blizzard.
Only, by the time we were ready to go, the skies parted and the sun came out. Super!
We found paydirt down a road to a deep-fishing dock. Just outside the Homer Spit Grind Shack ('You find 'em, we grind 'em') we spotted huge totes full of heads, backbones and entrails. There were already a couple of dog mushers there pillaging the goods, but they left soon after we arrived. We got to work, sifting through the goo and glop for the precious heads and backbones, which, surprisingly, still had a lot of meat on them. There were two fishermen across from us at another big tote, cutting the extra meat from around the fish heads. They told us these meaty collars were great to eat when smoked. Huh. We managed to snag a few heads with meat collars still attached and are planning on sampling some of this divine black cod ourselves.
Upon first glance of the big, plastic tote of guts, I worried for a second that I might vomit. It's funny, sometimes I can stomach anything (runny dog poo, a bloody dog after a fight, raw meat and blood) but sometimes, my insides do one little flipflop upon the sight of raw animal goo and I promptly barf where I stand. I guess it doesn't even have to be animal goo. I threw up a few days ago when I spotted a dead fly in my coffee cup. (It touched my lips!!) But here, standing amongst smelly fish heads, random fish eyeballs, stringy guts, bloated guts, bloody guts and whole lot of thick fish slime, I was fine. Not even a gag or a burp.
We brought Roy with us and the little devil managed somehow to escape from the truck (I left the door open) while we were working. Our hearts sank when we looked behind us and saw Roy, tail wagging, ready to bolt down the dock. He's great loose, except when it's time to be caught and then he's a little bugger. But, to our surprise, he saw the fish, and the people, and the boats, and the gulls and immediately jumped back in the truck. I guess it was all too much for him.
We filled out bags and boxes, chatted with the fishermen and headed to the grocery for some celebratory ice cream before going home tired, stinky and satisfied.
This morning I had the task of unloading all the fish, dividing it into manageable bags and packing it into the freezer.
I guess this would be a good day for shower and laundry.
Peace.

Guts! Glorious guts! Those grey heads are the cod.

Having fun with an idiot. What? Those pinkish fish are called Idiot Rock Fish. They're scary looking and not good for the dogs because they spiky fins, so we just had fun with them and then carried on collecting cod.

My man working hard.

Fishmen cutting off the collars.

This is a dog trailer that Rich built before we moved to Homer. Handsome and handy, what a find!

Libby's dog yard. Yes, this is where we work and play. Love it.

Our dog yard. It's quite compact for now, but in a nice spot. The dogs are happy, especially when we toss a few in the back of the truck and head to the beach!

I have had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane

2009-04-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hi from Homer,

Not much new here. The weather has been warm and sunny and the dog yard is a soupy mess. But the snow is melting quickly and everything seems to be draining well. We've been moving dogs and houses around to avoid the sink holes. Rich and I both have some pretty cool job prospects, but I won't say anymore until we get them because I don't want to jinx it.
We're planning out all the hikes and cool things we want to do around here this summer and have all but decided to stay indefinitely. We shall see.
Here are some random photos and a video of the pups. They sure are growing fast with this healthy, mountain-sea air.
Peace.

The view at sunset from our porch.

Our cabin.

This is what Roy does as soon as we're out of the bed in the morning.

Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both live again

2009-04-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Rich and I spent the morning on the beach walking a few dogs...or rather they walked us...We brought Roy, Brady, Hitchcock and Crush. We let them loose and then put them back on the leash and then let them loose again...they were all pretty well-behaved and enjoyed playing in the surf and sand. We had to tether Roy to Brady because Roy's not to be trusted...Brady just dragged him around for a while. Roy got really excited when he saw the little waves crashing in...it was pretty funny.
Anyway, here are some photos and video from our first (of many) walks on the beach.
Peace.

Whoopeee!

Mmmm....halibut...

That tiny thing in the distance is Mount Redoubt...the active volcano in AK...we've got the ash to prove it here...

Just beachy.

All I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee

2009-04-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hello from Fritz Creek!
We love it here! It's so beautiful, Libby is so cool and our cabin is perfect. Rich and I have both run puppies with Libby as there is still much snow here. The weather has been cool and a little windy but nice overall. The dogs are doing well and Summer's pups are growing like crazy. We've been busy with dog chores, odd jobs and looking for work. If anyone is coming to Alaska, make sure you visit Homer, it's quaint and liberal and colorful and there are a shitload of good coffee shops! Perfect.
Peace.

The view from our porch.

The ocean off Homer Spit.

Homer Spit.

Rich and Bully taking a nap.

Summer and the boy Cinch.

Ruby.

Roy checking his e-mail, facebook and twitter pages. He did this on his own, I swear.

Rich setting up the kitchen.

The eagles are everywhere! Protect your puppies!

The old man has never found a porch he didn't like.

Watch your puppies, people, we're not in Big Lake anymore

2009-04-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Rich and I made it to Homer and up, up, up the mountain to Fritz Creek, our new home for at least six months. We've already got a PO Box (Jill and Rich, PO Box 15033, Fritz Creek, AK, 99603-6033) and some cool job prospects. I want to work in the hippie-friendly Fritz Creek bakery because it's funky and only a few miles from here (all downhill on the way to work and uphill on the way home) and I am truckless at the moment so I'll be biking all summer. Rich will most likely work on a fishing boat or for a bear-viewing company down on the Homer Spit as he has the wheels and the will. So our cabin is fantastic (electricity AND water, what luxury!) and there is lots of room for the dogs to roam. We're caretaking for the one and only Libby Riddles (first woman to win Iditarod) as she works in Juneau all summer. We have our own cabin and dog lot but access to her house and giant bathtub. We will be taking care of her 40 dogs and house plants and daily chores along with working and enjoying Homer. It's dreary and snowy right now, but the weather here is usually great (not like soggy southeast). The view from our place is crazy! Mountains and ocean everywhere. Rich just called via payphone. He was on his way back to Big Lake to get the dogs (we hauled a trailer with 14 dog houses on it yesterday) but blew a wheel bearing on the (borrowed) trailer. SHITBALLS! He's fine, it just set us back in time and money...
Anyway, here are some photos and a video clip of the pups on the drive down. We brought Summer, the babies, Roy and Bully with us on this first trip.
I'll send some photos of the cabin and area tomorrow.
Peace.

Little Alice crawling on Uncle Bully, who apparently was done with his coffee.

Puppies snoozing. Libby has a pen we can use for the pups but she advised us to cover the top with fish net or else the bald eagles will swoop in a get them. I've never had this issue before...interesting...

Surprise! They're still snoozing.

A puppy for your thoughts?

2009-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well, these little boogers are growing quickly. Summer's already sick of nursing (bad mama!) but she's being quite the trooper...just wait 'til they get teeth! Ouch! Rich built a new trailer for our trek down to Homer and we're painting it today. Sponsor booty has been mailed, things are packed and I'm itchin' to get outta here! The days are getting longer and the dogyard is a soupy, poopy mess...spring has sprung. I've been told it's Easter weekend so I must get to Steve's Food Boy and get some chocolate.
Here is a photo and video of our newest editions. They grow up so quickly...sniffle...soon they'll be staying out all night and wasting their allowences on make-up and cell phones...
Peace.

The girls: from left, LuLu, Alice and Ruby

Livin' it to the limit and lovin' it a lot

2009-04-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

After lots of sleep, a few beer and some tasty food, I'm feeling 100 percent again.
So here's my Taiga 300 story. Settle in kids, get a cup of coffee because I've got stories.
Rich and I arrived in Lake Louise on Tuesday afternoon with the team (Bully, Capiche, Crush, Drake, Omar, Steven, Jerry, Stanley, Peter, Ku, Rohn and Hazel) I signed in and we fed the dogs, then ourselves. After getting caught up with other mushers, we went out and parked on the lake, organized drop bags and packed the sled. We slept in the truck that night and got up early for breakfast, dog chores and the pre-race drivers' meeting. Rich was such a huge help, he pretty much took over to let me rest and fret.
I was the third of 21 mushers to leave and took off at 11:06 a.m. One concern on this race is that April temperatures can be pretty high (up to 40 degrees F) but we left and is was clear and cool. The first 60 mile run went well. The dogs got a little hot in the afternoon as there were some surprisingly steep uphills (with white-knuckle downhills to follow!). We finished in about seven hours in 16th place out of 21. Not too bad. It's not like I went into this with the expectation I was going to win. I know my team is slow and being my first 300-mile race, I just wanted to relax and take it easy. The coolest thing on this run was a snow tornado that spun up the trail at us. We went right through it. Also, we saw a wolf-kill on the lake near the end of the run. Apparently a lone wolf has been all around that area recently.
So we arrived back at Wolverine Lodge for a mandatory six-hour layover. The dogs ate and rested well. I ate but only got about half an hour of sleep before heading out on the 110-mile leg shortly after 1 in the morning. I dropped Hazel here as she was being pouty and didn't want to go anymore. I left her in Rich's care and took off into the night.
The 110-miler, traveled over three lakes and three rivers to Maclaren Lodge. I ran the dogs for six-and-a-half hours (stopping to snack a couple times along the way) before making camp at 7:30 a.m. I rested for the same amount of time I ran. I cooked them a hot meal, ate some frozen pizza and curled up in my sled for a three-hour nap. I woke up at noon feeling great. The sun was out and the dogs and I lounged in the sun for another hour or so before taking off for the last 55 miles into Maclaren.
Along the trail, we were passed and passed teams camping or snacking or just slowing down in the heat of the day. We crossed some nasty overflow up to my knees and that's where my feet got wet (not on the 30-mile loop like the website said). It dropped to 30 below on that run and my boots froze completely solid. It was like wearing casts on my feet. I wasn't all that cold though as I was pedaling on the sled to stay warm and help the dogs. About 25 miles out of Maclaren on the Maclaren River we hit a canyon where the trail twisted over shelf ice and ice bridges with rushing, open river on either side of us. It was kind of spooky, but I was never scared. Some teams had a tough time over the ice-bridge crossings and almost ended up in the drink! Not me, though. My team was steadfast and fearless over the many water and ice crossings.
We loped into Maclaren at 10:45 p.m. for a mandatory eight-hour layover. We stayed nine. In that time, I fed the team twice and carefully went through each dog massaging and wrapping wrists, rubbing shoulders and putting ointment on their feet. I tucked them into their straw and heavy dog coats (thanks again Lou Ann!) and headed up the hill to the lodge for a burger and some sleep.
I napped for about three hours before heading out to the dogs to do it all over again. At around eight, we took off for a quick 30-mile loop on a super trail past the Maclaren Glacier. It was socked in so I didn't see much. On this run, Bully started limping a little and looked really tired, poor old guy. I loaded him in the sled and gave him a ride the rest of the way. We still managed to finish the 30-mile in two hours and 45 minutes. We got back to Maclaren for a mandatory four-hour break. I dropped Bully and sent him home. It was here that I also dropped Jerry, one of five Greg Parvin dogs that I borrowed for the race. Jerry should have remained in the team as he was uninjured and doing great, but I'm an idiot and in my tired stupor, I gave him a cough suppressant to ease a tickle in his throat. I mentioned it to the vet AFTER I gave it to him and she informed me (actually race marshall John Schandelmeier informed me) that the substance was banned and Jerry would have to go home. Live and learn, I guess.
I left Maclaren for the last time at around 4 p.m. on Friday (the winner of the race had already crossed the finish line at this point) for the final 110-miles to the finish at Wolverine Lodge. We started out slow but eventually settled into a pace and the dogs were moving well, back over the ice bridges, one of which had apparently collapsed but I didn't notice (couldn't have been that bad). After about five hours I stopped to camp, fed the dogs, rubbed their bodies and crawled on top of my sled for a quick hour-long nap. I camped with another woman because she was a little afraid to be out there alone. I would have preferred to be by myself, but I wanted to help her out. We set out at 1 a.m. and ran another five hours before stopping to camp for the last time. I cooked the dogs a meal and crawled into my sled for a long two-hour nap. I was so sore and tired at this point, I could have slept there for days. But the end of the race was calling. At about 9:30 a.m. two teams came whizzing by us and I knew that I was in last place. Oh well. I slowly packed my sled, watered the dogs, bootied and took off for the last 40 miles to the finish. It took us about six hours as we were running in the heat of the day. I stopped often (probably too often) to rub snow on the dogs to cool them off. The woman I had been camping with was long gone. It was just me out there and the last 20 miles across the lakes to the finish was, at times, excruciatingly slow and painful. I was popping four Ibuprofen about every four hours, but my body was screaming at me. I got the finish line with my Capiche in single lead and my faithful Rich there waiting. Zoya and John, the husband and wife duo who put on the race, were also there to check my mandatory gear and look at the dogs. Most other mushers were still around so I knew I wasn't that far back...only about 15 minutes actually.
It was then that I found out that I wasn't last. Whoohooo!! A woman who had been in first place for most of the race had gotten lost in the night and took a 100-mile detour. After I realized that she and the dogs were good, I smiled because I wouldn't be last. Not that it matters to me. I had a great time and learned so much. The trail was challenging at times but beautiful. The weather was fantastic and people were absolutely amazing. The Taiga 300 was better than I could have ever imagined. It was well organized and as always with a John and Zoya race, the standards of dog care were very high. In fact, two mushers were withdrawn from the race because of poor dog care. So of the 19 teams that finished, I was 18th. The dogs were so great on this race. I love them so much and adored every second on the trail with them. They teach me something every time I get on the runners.
I need to thank Rich for his ongoing support and love. You are my everything, Rich!
Also thank you to Greg Parvin of the Nome-Kotzebue-Two Rivers-Big Lake-Lawyer-Musher ilk, for the use of Jerry, Steve, Stanley, Ku and Rohn and for his support and friendship. I love ya, Parvo! Thank you to Darrin Lee and Heidi for their kind words and support and to Ed Steilstra for complimenting my smile at Maclaren and for the good company while we both shoved burgers down our gullets! Thanks to Susie, Alan and Ed at Maclaren River Lodge for their support, great food, excellent company. See you all again soon! (thanks Ed, for putting my socks in the dryer and for the pizza bread!) Thanks to Jodi and Dan for Omar and Drake (they did awesome!) and for your friendship. Thanks to John and Zoya for putting on the race and for your support and advice. Thank you to my sponsors, especially Arctis Carts in California for your support this season. And lastly, thank you to my family for your interest.
Anyone else who helped me in any way, I appreciate it very, very much.
Peace.

Me on Lake Louise after the first 60-mile run.

On the Maclaren River shelf ice. Notice the open water to the left.

Our first campspot on the Susitna River.

Sunset on the Maclaren River.

Bully in the sledbag. The old man is feeling much better now and is enjoying some quality couch time with me.

Leaders cuddled up at Maclaren. Rohn, Ku, Stanley and Capiche.

Jerry enjoying the sun at one of our campouts.

Me enjoying the sun at one of our campouts.

We arrived home Saturday night and to our surprise saw that Summer's pups had grown exponentially. Here's Rich with Cinch, the boy. They mostly grew out and are now fat little roly-polies.

Slow and steady, sunburnt and still smiling!

2009-04-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
I finished the Taiga 300 yesterday (Saturday) at around 4:30 p.m. It was a little slower than I wanted, but we had a great time out there camping and meandering down rivers and over lakes that I guess I just didn't want it to be over! I had so much fun and I think the dogs did to! The nine I finished with looked good at the finish line, just a little tired. Over the four days in the race, I got less than eight hours of sleep, so I was little out of it but still enjoying the experience. I learned so much on this race and had a blast. I will write a detailed yarn later today with photos and video from the trail. My fingers are very swollen right now and not cooperating with the keypad. Thanks for your support and thanks to Rich for writing the updates.
Peace.

Taiga Update #5

2009-04-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!
The news since last night has the top 9 teams across the finish line. Michelle Phillips finished at 3:33pm (4/3), Micha Degerlund at 7:12pm, Cindy Barrand at 7:26pm, Angie Taggart 10:35pm, Jason Mackey 12:23am (4/4), Darrin Lee 1:44am, Robert Tasso 2:53am, Wayne Curtis 4:19am, and Wattie McDonald at 6:41am.
I received news this morning that Jillian is running a four hour on, four hour off schedule on the 108 mile run to the finish. This is a running strategy which ensures that the dogs and the musher are going to have a fun run without tiring out. Many of the Mushers that have already finished had talked to her at the McClaren checkpoint, and report that she is in a great mood, and having good dog runs. Due to the change in running schedule, her finish time is likely going to be a little bit later than the 12:30- 12:45pm finish that I had previously expected. I will let you know as soon as she crosses the finish line. Keep Cheering !!

Taiga Update #4

2009-04-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

I finally have some news! First of all, it sounds like one of the ice bridges collapsed while Jillian was on the 30 mile loop, leaving her with wet feet! Being such a short run, I don't think it left her too uncomfortable. I received news from the race Marshall that after the run, she was doing well, and was prepared to leave McClaren after her 4 hour rest at about 2:45pm this afternoon. She dropped two more dogs while at McClaren, which means that she will run the remainder of the race with a string of 9 dogs (still a good sized team). Her run from Wolverine to McClaren on the outbound took her 21 hours and 50 minutes, so if she runs the same schedule and the dogs are moving as efficiently on the way back, we can expect her to cross the finish line between 12:30pm and 12:45pm tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.
Michelle Phillips is the winner of the race crossing the finish line at 3:33pm. We are still waiting for the next team to arrive. I'll update a little while later. Its going to be a long night as the rest of the teams start to drift in to the finish.
You can view fairly uncurrent race statistics at dogsleddenali.com, and click on Taiga 300!

Minimal Taiga Update #3

2009-04-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi
Sorry about the delay, but the information from McClaren has been very sluggish. What I know is that all but two teams were into McClaren before 11pm last night. There is a quick 30 mile loop after an 8 hour rest in McClaren followed by a 4 hour rest back a McClaren Lodge before the teams leave to head to the finish line, 108 miles back to Wolverine Lodge.
As of 10:30 this morning 12 teams had completed their 8 hour, 30 mile, and 4 hour rests, and were headed towards the finish line. I am not sure when Jillian arrived at McClaren last night, so it is impossible for me to update her progress as of right now. I will let you know as soon as I hear something. Sorry for the lack of information.

Taiga Update #2

2009-04-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hi it's Rich again!
The most recent update has some corrections and new information.
Corrections: Tanya Schletner actually arrived at McClaren at 12:24 (not 12:04)
Michelle Phillips was in at 12:25 (not 12:05). They both ran straight, and did not rest on the 108 mile run.
New: Cindy Barrand showed up at McClaren at 3:20pm, followed by Micah Degerlund at 3:41pm, and Angie Taggart at 4:03pm. Each of these three teams reported that they took a three hours rest on the trail between Wolverine and McClaren. Talk to you again soon!

Taiga Update #1

2009-04-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

Hi folks this is Rich reporting on the Taiga 300 and Jillian's progress on the trail. I'm not the seasoned blogger, nor as computer savvy as Jillian is, so just bear with me. 21 teams showed up by Wednesday morning to start the race, Jillian being the 3rd team to leave the starting line. The first teams arrived back here at Wolverine lodge on Lake Louise about five hours and fifty minutes later. Jillian took it easy due to the warmer weather and hot sun, finishing the first 60 miles in seven hours. There was a mandatory 6 hour layover at wolverine before the next 108 miles to the next checkpoint at McClaren Lodge. The first teams left here about 11:30 last night, Jillian left just before 1am and the rest of the teams were out by 2am. Jillian started the race with 12 dogs, but decided to drop Hazel out before leaving Wolverine this morning, because she wasn't having any fun. I will take care of Hazel here at the truck until Jillian returns, hopefully Saturday morning. That is all that I have right now, but I will update as I hear more reports from the trail.

UPDATE:
A report from the trail marshal this morning, who is ahead of the teams on the 108 mile trail to the McClaren checkpoint said that a lot of the natural ice bridges on the McClaren River have broken leaving big spots of open water in the race trail. This isn't as big of a problem as it sounds. The river isn't very deep, and the team that Jillian is running is very good in water. This will slow the run times down a little bit. Jillian is planning on taking a rest about half way through the 108, while the teams that are racing hard will run straight through.

UPDATE 2:
News just arrived that Tanya Schletner pulled in the McClaren at 12:04pm this afternoon (108 miles in 12 hours and 33 minutes). and Michelle Phillips showed up just behind her at 12:05pm (108 miles in 12 hours and 27 minutes).

I will write up more reports as I get them!

Female asses are mysterious creatures

2009-03-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

What? It's from a Planet Earth episode on grazing herds of the plains.
Two posts in one day. Wild and crazy, I know.
Anyway, I'm trying to put music on my MP3 player while Rich is cooking pizzas for me to vacuum seal for the race.
A short dog run to come. I wanted to post a link to the race for any of those who are interested. Clickity click right Here!
Peace

Is that something you might be interested in?

2009-03-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Mama Summer and her babes are doing well. They've settled in to a routine of eating...and, well, that's about it. Summer has been eating and drinking. She takes a bite of food and then goes back to the pups, bite of food, back to the pups, etc...
I got all my sponsor booty and will be sending it out after the race. I'm hoping to finish the Taiga 300 by Saturday morning. That's a really conservative schedule, but I don't have delusions in this one. I just want to finish with happy dogs. (I used to hate it when mushers said that in interviews, but it's true.)
So, here's the breakdown:
Sponsors who gave between $1 and $49 get a bumper sticker and a photo card.
Sponsors who gave between $50 and $99 get two bumper stickers, a card and a Spitfire Kennels hat.
Sponsors who gave between $100 and $500 get four bumper stickers, a card, a hat and a T-shirt.
Sponsors who give over $2,000 get a guided three-night trip via dog sled. (Airfare to Alaska not included)
So expect your booty by the end of April.
Also, all of these items including, Spitfire Kennels fleece jacketsand hoodies are for sale. Posters are also for sale upon request.
Today we're getting last minute items for the race and taking the dogs out for a short run.
Peace.

Say hello to my little friends

2009-03-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

We've got four puppies! First up was a dark brown girl named Ruby, then a few hours later came a little grayish-brown girl named LuLu, minutes later came a dark brown boy named Cinch and finally a little light brown girl named Alice. These are the latest addition to our family and Rich and I are very excited. Summer is doing well and is an excellent mama. She and the babes are resting in the dog barn.
Here are some photos. Also, there is a short video clip of Roy partaking in his favorite morning ritual: Barking at moose until they charge him.
Enjoy!
Peace

Dog-barn hotel

Jilly and the Micro-tinies.

Proud parents!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...Puppy Watch: Day 63

2009-03-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

No pups yet. I thought for sure it was going to happen last night. All night long, Summer would initiate howls followed by moans and a couple of groans. I would hurry down the ladder (hurrying and ladders don't mix, needless to say) and outside to see. But each time, she'd just be sitting outside her house looking at me like 'what?'
I fell asleep on the couch in front of the warm, glowing glow of the propane heater, waiting for the next episode. I had trouble sleeping because her howling was so loud as she's right outside the window by our bed. It sounded like she was right...outside...our...window...nevermind.
So then, a while later, she started the old trying-jam-the-metal-food-dish-in-the-doghouse game. In my mind's eye, Summer's thoughts went something like this:

"Why...won't...this...darn....CLANG...dish...CLANG...go...inside...CLANG...my...CLANG CLANG....house..."
After about 20 minutes she must have realized that if she turned the dish sideways it would go in. The clanging stopped and the next time I went outside, she was curled up with her food dish. in her dog house.
She wouldn't eat breakfast this morning and she looks really uncomfortable, so those little pups are coming any time now.
I don't necessarily want to be there when she's actually having them, but I do want to be around in case there any complications (ie; if she withholds a pup or tries to eat them).
This summer when Sadie (a Greg Parvin dog) had her pups, Rich would go to check on her and she'd get so excited to see him, she'd burst out of her house to get some pets with a puppy hanging out of her vag. Not good.
We just moved her into the dog barn in a corral with lots of bedding hay and fresh water.
So, here we wait. For babies. I had crazy dreams last night that she delivered a litter of kittens.
God, I hope not.
Peace.

Puppy Watch: Day 62

2009-03-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

The mood is tense; I have been on some serious, serious reports but nothing quite like this. I, uh... ~~Ching... King~~ Summer is inside right now. I tried to get an interview with ~~him~~ her, but they said no, you can't do that ~~he's~~ she’s a live ~~bear~~ dog, he she will literally rip your face off. 'Hey, you're making me look stupid! Get out of here, ~~Panda~~ Husky Jerk.'

Summer has actually been very loving and patient while I poke and prod and snuggle her every day. She's going to pop out these pups any day now. Her vag is really swollen and leaking goo, so I'm pretty sure she's almost there. She's still eating every morsel that's put in front of her and her poop is solid, so it's still probably at least a day or so off, but we'll see. When she stops eating, it's time.

Rich and I have been busy getting ready for the race; packing dry food, cutting meat, etc. Rich also made some white, polyester dog coats for my race. I have the heavy insulated ones too, but if it's warm and sunny, I need to protect the dark dogs from overheating.

I let a few of the race dogs loose this morning to let them stretch out and see how they look. Oh yes, they look good. Nice and happy and strong.

In the team will be seven of my dogs and five of Greg Parvin's dogs. For clarity's sake, I've been calling them Rich's dogs. (Bite my tongue, bite my tongue, bite my tongue.)
Regardless of who owns what dogs, they have been well-trained this season and are healthy and happy.

We're packing for the race, but also packing up all of our worldly possessions to hit the road to Homer and beyond. Homer for the summer for sure, but after that, who knows? Wherever the clever North wind blows us, I suppose.
Peace

Here is my Summer-boo in all her prego glory. She has beautiful eyes, coat, gait, appetite and disposition. I can't wait for her babies!

Don't put your ash near the dogs, please

2009-03-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Nothing could top the news of Rich finishing fourth in Goose Bay 120 yesterday. Not even a volcano erupting close by, showering the Mat-Su Valley with ash. (More on that in a minute)

Here are some results for all you Goose Bay fans.

1st) Jason 'I'm not my brother's shadow' Mackey

2nd) Carmen 'Came out of the woodwork' Perzechino

3rd) Joseph 'Not afraid to call out the Iditarod' Robertia

4th) Richard 'I'm not grumpy when I place in the top 5' Savoyski

5th) Gus 'I don't know what to say about him because he's mildly vanilla' Gunther

6th) Debbie 'Sparky' Moderow

Other people from 7th through 13th included Elaine something from Wasilla, a colorful character named Jesse Bebee, Wayne Curtis and his beautiful Siberians and Tom Someone-With-An-Accent who was running Kathleen Fredricks' dogs.

14) Colleen 'Doesn't seem right for her to be back here' Robertia

Sue Allen scratched about 15 miles into the race.

So, the confusion came after teams had their eight-hour layover at a makeshift checkpoint on Flathorn Lake. A storm moved in and with it brought strong winds and falling/blowing snow. Visibility was very limited and the trail had blown in. Trail stakes either weren't there to begin with on the outbound trail or had blown away/gotten buried, so teams were floundering though sometimes-waist deep snow (that's neck deep for the dogs) to find some inkling of a packed trail. Some teams went back to the checkpoint and according to one musher at the finish line 'The whole race got lost.' Trail breakers went out on snowmachines but unfortunately they a) didn't know where the trail was or was supposed to be either and b) had been drinking whiskey for a while.

Dangerous, foolish and frankly, appalling, I know.

Eventually up to 12 of the remaining 14 teams were lined up in a convoy trying to find the trail in the dark, in a storm. They would go up one way, realize that it was the wrong way, send word down the line to turn around and would turn, in unison, 12, 12-dog teams 180 degrees and head back. That's no easy feat even when you've got a tired dog team and conditions are good, so imagine how it was for these teams who were fresh off an eight-hour break and in a storm on fresh snow where it was impossible to hook down. According to Jason Mackey and others at the finish line, they had to do this synchronized turning many times before Rich finally spotted the correct trail and told the others. They took off and spread out. Jason and Carmen shot ahead both vying for first, but Joseph and Rich ran together for a lot of it along with Debbie and Gus. The trail was still confusing even as day broke and the winds died, but Rich and I train on these trails, so Rich knew the way and would wait for Joseph to make sure he was on the right path, too. For this, Rich got the unofficial sportsmanship award. I was so proud at the finish banquet when Joseph, who finish third, recounted Rich's helpful actions and then handed over some of his race winnings so that he and Rich had equal amounts. I was so proud!!! My heart was bursting and I haven't seen a smile like that on Rich's face in a while. Way to go, baby!

Rich is still sleeping as he didn't get any on the race and he was pretty amped up after the banquet so we watched a movie. (Cold Creek Manor, perhaps one of the worst ever.)
Rich's finishing team was: Ku, Rohn, Capiche, Bully, Drake, Omar, Steven, Jerry, Stanley, Crush and Pete. He dropped Sipsi at the halfway because she wasn't having fun. The dogs came in strong, tired and with absolutely no injuries. This, with the exception of Jerry and including either Hazel, Strider or Doyon, will be my team for next week's Taiga 300. (I'd like to thank Arctis LLC at arctis-carts.com for the shout out and sponsorship.)

Mount Redoubt erupted yesterday but Big Lake is east of the fallout zone so luckily we haven't had any ash raining down on us, but it is all around us in Willow, Wasilla, Talkeetna and Skwenta. Let's hope it doesn't happen as the dogs ingesting those particles is obviously very bad for them.

Peace.

I have some (hilarious) video of the debacle at the race, but I have to edit it down a little. Stay tuned.

We're drinking champagne like we won a championship game

2009-03-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Rich and the Spitfire Kennels crew finished fourth in this year's Goose Bay 120! The dogs finished so strong and Rich was pedaling and poling for the entirety of the race to help the team keep up their speed. With the exception of a wicked storm last night that caused all 15 teams to get lost and turned around on several occasions, and some mass confusion at the finish line after some teams took a shortcut, the race went relatively smoothly. I'll write more later after Rich and I have a nap, go the banquet to get the prize money (we finished in the money!) and feed the dogs again.
Peace

When the going gets tough, the tough get dragged across the road

2009-03-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Oh man, what a start to the Goose Bay 120. After my debacle last year, I thought no one could top it. As it turns out, it can be topped, or least matched. And by Rich, no less! Ha! Actually, his start wasn't as bad as mine because he hung on and didn't lose the team like I did. Plus the whole starting chute was a goddamn goatrope this year. Sleds were tipping and mushers dragging all over the freakin' place. They switched everything up this year and rerouted the race course to boot. We have a strong team, though a few teams showed up that I'm not sure we could beat. Who knows, though? Anything can happen out there and Rich knows these trails very well as they're our home training trails for the most part. Rich is a very determined, very competent dog driver so we'll see. A total of 15 teams started this year including Colleen Roberia and her hubby Joseph (each running a team), Debbie Moderow and Jason Mackey. Rich made it to the chute in good shape. He was counted down and, with Ku and Rohn in lead, he fired out the chute and over the road. He overcompensated for a 90 degree turn onto the trail and the sled flipped. Rich, who is wickedly athletic and scarily fearless, hung on as the team drug him over the pavement and down into the ditch. He righted the sled only to flip it again but was up again in a matter of seconds and didn't even have to hook down. The volunteers at the road crossing turned back to me after and in unison said 'impressive.' Yep, that's my Rich, never lets go or looks back. The run was rerouted down the Butterfly Lake trail and around Flathorn Lake where they have a basecamp set up. After that 55-mile run to basecamp, all teams must take a mandatory eight-hour rest before heading back about 55 miles to the finish. Unlike last year, which was a true 120-miles, this year will be cut a tad short. Plus, last year, we had our break at Yentna Station out on the river, but teams this year won't hit the Big Su or the Yentna River at all. (That is, if my understanding of the map was correct.) If all goes well, Rich should be in between 8 and 10 tomorrow morning. I'm going to call the checkpoint later to see how the first run went.
Here are some pics and a video (sorry hon, I have to) from the start line.
Peace.
My last race of the season starts on April 1st. The Taiga 300 will be an Iditarod qualifier for me. Rich will be there to handle (the dogs and me!).

Rich signing a bib.

Sipsi giving her papa a pep talk.

Bully and Capiche relaxing in the truck before the start.

This is the first time I've ever seen Rich wipeout. He did the entire Iditarod last year and only fell off once and it was on the flat Yukon River.

Well, I get told to never get old

2009-03-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

I had the worst run yesterday. And it was with the puppies! So in case I've failed to mention, this summer Rich's dog Sadie had six pups. They're about seven or eight months now and we've been taking them on short, fun runs with some of the older dogs. Usually, I run them while Rich is doing longer runs and will take out two teams to divide the chaos in half. Yesterday I was feeling brave and took out an eight-dog team with all six pups and two leaders (Jack and Hitchcock). (The pups names are Mr. Lahey, Bubbles, Garcon, Obby, Maude and Wayne.) Even though these pups have been out on a dozen or more runs, hook-up is still a nightmare. Rich helped me yesterday and there was no shortage of flailing, chewing, biting, and general puppy antics. (The reason I've taken over with the pups is because, believe or not, I have a little more patience when it comes to the scratching, biting, fighting routine.) So right before we took off, Obby wiggled out of his harness and was loose, running around with Roy, who is impossible to catch when he knows you want to catch him. Fine, I thought, Obby can just run loose with the team. We finally took off and I realized that Maude has twisted herself up and was necklining. We were on the road at this point, so there was no stopping. As soon as we turned onto the NorthSouth trail, I stopped and unhooked her neckline. We were off again with Obby and Roy darting in and out of the team causing all the dogs to get distracted and thus, tangled. After several stops and lots of yelling at Roy, Jack, an old leader who has finished two Iditarods, had had enough. He made a quick haw (left turn) off the trail and into the knee-deep powder. I went with it, because I had had enough by this point also. I tried to get the team back on the trail, but Jack wasn't having it. He led us through the deep stuff for a while and then I saw Wayne trip and get tangled in his harness. I stopped quickly but couldn't set a hook because we were in powder, so I just grabbed him and took his harness off, setting him free. I finally got the team lined out and back on the hard-packed trail home. Now Wayne, Obby and Roy were running through the team causing everyone to get fed up. Bubbles reached out and grabbed Wayne, who was running loose beside her, by the ear. By the time I got back up onto the road and into the yard, I was sweating and hoarse from yelling. Jack was utterly fed up, but the pups were still wound up. It was a bad idea on my part to take them all at once. With two teams, I can have each pup beside an older dog and they don't act up nearly as much. Well, live and learn and hope that I didn't do too much damage.
No babies from Summer yet, but we're thinking in the next week or so. I moved her to a house right beside our cabin, so she can have a little peace and quiet.
Rich's 120-mile race starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. They generally don't update during this race because it's lesser known so I'll try to let you know how he's doing. His race team is: Ku, Rohn, Stanley, Steve, Jerry, Bully, Capiche, Crush, Drake, Omar, Sipsi and Pete. We'll see how they do this weekend and decide who will be on my Taiga 300 team. The Taiga starts on April 1st, at Wolverine Lodge.
I got a logo done and have ordered T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats to send to sponsors. I also ordered bumper stickers for sponsors, so if you sent me money, expect something soon besides my undying gratitude.
Peace.

Sometimes fires don't go out when you're done playing with them

2009-03-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

It's windy here. And the chainsaw's broken so I can't cut word. Needless to say, I'm a little chilly. We have propane heat, but don't want to use it because fuel is so expensive. Rich is out for a 60-miler with the race team. We're taking turns doing a long runs with the main team and short runs with the pups.
Remember a few posts ago when I recounted the canine coitis on the trail between Summer and Rohn? Well upon close inspection yesterday it looks like Summer's preggers. She's not very big though, so it makes me think that either a) she's going to have a false pregnancy again or b) she'll only have a couple pups.
I hope it's the latter. We'll name a boy Junior and a girl Ruby. I've wanted a litter since last summer so I hope she pops out at least one.
Not much else to report. I'm counting the hours until we leave for Homer.
Peace.

I'm not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down

2009-03-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

According to my mother, with whom I just had the sweetest conversation, I'm leaving 'a trail of disappointment' wherever I go. Guess who's not invited to my rookie Iditarod start next year? Yes I gave up a steady career to race sled dogs. Do I regret it? Not for a second. I'm happy. Yes I've 'run away' from various lives I've had in the past several years, but I need to be happy. And you know what? I am happy. Have I disappointed people along the way? Probably. But I'm not living for other people. I completed my first 200-mile race this year and I'm pretty freakin' proud of that. (My mother paid the $200 entry fee but wanted it back when I didn't win.) I'm hoping to complete my first 300-mile race shortly. The people who have supported me along the way did so because they are supporting my dream, not because they expect something in return. And I'm living my dream. I'm not rich and don't have much to show, but I wake up every day not dreading the hours ahead. This is who I am.
We've narrowed the race contenders down. Hitchcock is out because she's just not interested in any run past 20 miles. Summer's out with a sore shoulder. Sister's out because she'd much rather train pups than go on any long runs. We've still got about 16 in contention for a 12-dog team, so odds are good that we'll have a great lineup come race time.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Peace.

Don't piss off the hippie-crites...they might just burn your house down

2009-03-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, things have certainly changed a lot here in Alaska. Without getting into all the gory details, I will tell you these little tidbits:
I moved south to Big Lake with the dogs.
I am moving again in a couple weeks to Homer, Alaska, with the dogs and Rich.
I am racing in the Taiga 300 which starts on April 1.

I was talking to a friend online yesterday and he was telling me how he wished he had the gumption to do the things he wants to do. The things that would really make him happy. But he can't. He's got a wife, a big house, a couple cars, an HD flatscreen TV...you know...stuff... And he's up to his ass in debt as a result.
I am by no means debt free, but if you wait until where you want to be financially, instead of just making do, you'll never do anything. And as cliche as this sounds, one life is one life. For the love of god, live it!
I managed to race this year with the help of kind sponsors and supporters and now when I get money I buy dog food and the rest is secondary. And I'm happy. And excited because I can do anything. Really. And I will. I have been. My new plan is to do Iditarod next year.
Anyway, the dogs are in super shape. Strider and Sipsi have become superstars of the team, much to my huge surprise. We've got 18 race dogs who are all in the running for my Taiga team. Rich will take 12 in the Goose Bay 120 next weekend, so we'll see how they do on that.
Anyway, here are some random photos from the past few weeks.
Peace.
I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I know I did. I'm not evil, just selfish, I guess. I need to do what makes me happy.
I have no idea where this is all going, so I'll leave it. 'Nuff said.
We're watching dog races and training pups and race dogs. There are no rules here and it's perfect.

Roy cuddled up with a scarf that Rich's mom made me.

Streeper's winning team at the Fur Rondy World Championship a couple weeks ago.

A team givin' 'er down Cordova Hill during the Fur Rondy.

Rich and Hoser at the Rondy.

Rich and I at the Rondy.

Times they are a changin'

2009-02-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

Training is going well. The dogs look good. Times are changing. The blog will be on hold for a while. Please stay tuned. I'm disabling comments because, well, because I want to. If you want to know what's going on, email me. Things are good, don't worry. I just need time.
Peace

Good News for People Who Like BAD News

2009-01-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

OK, here it is. Straight up. I don't have enough money to do the Quest 300. I'm postponing my 300-mile race until April when I'll do the Taiga 300 in Paxson. This is an extremely hard decision for me as my drop bags are done, the dogs are trained etc. But, this is life. It's hard. I didn't plan very well financially.
That's it.
Race postponed until April.

This is a test...this is only a test...

2009-01-27T21:57:00.001-08:00

What'dya think? I was just dinking around and I really don't what these could be used for...thank-you cards? They're just photos I've taken over the years, altered in Photoshop. The blue-eyed dog is Carol, a friend's dog, and the brown one is Bully.
Peace

I can't wear skinny jeans cuz my knots won't fit

2009-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

I got the best new music from Johnson the other night. A whole bunch of randomness but the thing I'm most excited about is a remix of Fire it Up by Modest Mouse and Lil' Wayne. Words can't describe the awesomeness. Except maybe the word awesome. I hate that word. Reminds me of Bill and Ted. Keanu Reeves is a boob. Whatever happened to the other guy?
I'm continuing to pack drop bags today, cut meat, do three interviews (maybe four...Jodi?? Helloooo?) and go on a short run later. And yet here I sit at the computer.
Oh!
Ron Jeremy AND Richard Simmons are coming to Fairbanks this month. Not together. I don't know which one makes me more homicidal. Simmons, for sure. I think Ron Jeremy should work out with Richard Simmons...'Sweatin' to the Bow-chicka-bow-wows'...'and thrust and thrust and moan and scream and choke and spank it'...oh god this has gone too far...
Peas

Wheeeeee! Gloves and heat packs and batteries!

I tried to show Crush (aka 'HR Puffy Face'...she has an abscess on her cheek) how to cut the tags off the gloves but then I was reminded that she doesn't have thumbs.

Booties! And dog coats!

Who are we cheering for?? Carmacks! Wait, no, Rogers!! Carmacks is the name of the checkpoint sillyhearts!

Roy was no help as usual.